GRADE: B | Whether “The Number 23” is a blessing or a curse is up to the audience.

If you like seeing Jim Carrey, in good form, with his shirt off, or if you like conspiracy theories in the style of “The Da Vinci Code,” “23” is your lucky number.

However, if you are wary of OCD amateur detectives and plot twists that stretch just a little too thin, maybe you can see past the numerologist hype.

It is in the opening credits that the conspiracy is introduced to an unsuperstitious, numerology unsavvy audience. Numbers are shown: the angle of the Earth’s axis is roughly 23 degrees, Caesar was stabbed 23 times, there are 23 pairs of chromosomes in the human body, the ratio 2/3 is the sign of the devil (.666), Hiroshima was bombed at 8:15 (8+15=23), the Mayans predicted the world would end on 1/23/2012 (and 1+20+12=23 as well), and much more.

The number becomes an obsession and, in the case of this movie, it can become fatal.

Some people coming out of the movie will do exactly what Carrey did. Exposed to a book about an obsession with the number 23, he started seeing it everywhere. He found it in his address, his name, his hotel room, and the date February 23 – not coincidentally, also opening night for the film.

The movie is not just a psychological study on the number 23, like the weightier mathematics study in the movie “Pi.” Instead, late into the movie – maybe too late to be effective – a crime is introduced, and it seems the anonymous author of Carrey’s book is trying to expose a real-life murder with clues only Carrey can interpret.

The movie is a chilling testament to how a good novel or movie can imitate and impact someone’s life, especially when conspiracies are involved.

However, even with a fine dramatic performance by Carrey, the movie can lose hold of the audience. The long-winded explanations of plot twists can cancel out the very stylized filming of the book’s retelling. As murderous as Carrey becomes, it seems as though the audience is waiting for a good joke or sight gag.

At its worst, the film roles along like a CrimeTV or Discovery channel crime-drama.

At its best, it is a compelling drama with matters concerning fate, redemption and Carrey’s future dramatic acting career.

The degree to which you are taken in by the conspiracy will determine your involvement with the characters. It is better to be swept up by it.