Smokin' Aces (2006)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Please don't spend money on this.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Smokin' Aces (2006): Dir: Joe Carnahan / Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Alicia Keys, Ray Liotta, Andy Garcia, Jeremy Piven: Fast moving action film about "Aces" Isreal whom everyone wants dead. The F.B.I. tracks him down at a high Vegas suite. Director Joe Carnahan does a terrific job at maintaining story lines with graphic violence populating the third act. He previously made Narc, which is another well crafted action thriller surrounding the rights and wrongs of the law. This is not as great a film as Narc, but it's entertaining to boot. Ryan Reynolds plays an F.B.I. officer who learns hard truths about Aces and his relation to an older mobster. It is a great serious performance from Reynolds who witnesses the dishonesty around him but his solution is questionable when he locks himself into a certain room. Alicia Keys is superb as a female hit-man posing as a prostitute to gain access to Isreal's suite. Ray Liotta plays Reynolds partner who enters the building with Reynolds yet meets tragedy. Andy Garcia is strong in key scenes when he arranges the whole assault then attempts to cover up guilty parties. Jeremy Piven plays Buddy "Aces", which is the Ace being smokin' out. The action is fast and fierce but the violence is extreme and too excessive. The film is well crafted and visually appealing for the genre. It regards the reality of one's evil deeds catching up and presenting its penalty. Score: 8 / 10

Joe Carnahan's Smokin Aces. Violent. Hilarious. Eclectic. Colourful. Brilliantly written. This film is one of many I bring up when I meet a film snob who turns their noses up at any kind of pulpy, below the belt, cubist action comedy that isn't a profound statement on the human condition blah blah. While I love discerning the ephemeral themes that high minded films have to offer, I live in the real world where films are there to entertain, first and foremost, and entertaining is an understatement for this movie. Carnahan reaches into his magicians hat and pulls out a loud, lovable, obnoxious bunch of cops, feds, femmes Fatale, assassin's, Vegas lowlifes and assorted psychos that would make a circus ringmaster blush. I won't get too much into the intricate plot, but it involves a whole bunch of seedy weirdos out to get an even seedier Vegas showman and small time thug who's about to turn states evidence. That's all you need. From there the film takes off into orbit from shootout to ridiculous wordplay to unconventional romance to surprising emotional hurt and everything in between. Ryan Reynolds is fantastic as an idealistic FBI agent who very quickly becomes disillusioned and jaded by his superior (Andy Garcia), and Ray Liotta is brilliant as his partner. Jeremy Piven is hilarious, Common gives his role an uncanny depth, and there are really memorable, star making supporting turns from Jason Bateman, Martin Henderson, Tommy Flanagan and Nestor Carbonell. Chris Pine is hilarious in a role so demented it's amazing he managed to top it in weirdness with his turn in Carnahan's excellent recent film Stretch. Ben Affleck shows up long enough to play pool and get ventilated by an MP5, and watch for Matthew Fox in an unrecognizable cameo. I love a good action film noir comic book style thriller. I hate when people get on their high horse, call it a Tarantino ripoff, call it brainless and void of any serious meaning. They seem to forget that movies, although apt to bring us serious brain food and existential weight, are there to make sure we have fun as well. That's something I never want to lose or forget in my film watching adventures.

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was the first film I saw which involved multiple sets of characters going about their - murderous - business, independently of each other, only for their paths to eventually cross. There may be other movies before Lock Stock which have used a similar model, but I can't name them right now.Since then, both America and Britain have produced more of the same sorts of gangster movies. Smoking Aces is one such film. Only this time we add the FBI into the mix as they try to save potential informant Buddy 'Aces' Israel from being assassinated by several different contract killers.I've watched Smoking Aces three times now and each time I find I've forgotten what it's all about (or the finer details and plot twists). I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or not that a - quite complex - film leaves my memory so quickly. Either way, I do enjoy it, even though it probably could be better.With any film which utilises many characters, you can expect the story to never be able to do every last one of them justice. Many of the hit men are simply one-dimensional tools, used to move the plot (or what little plot there is) forward.Perhaps Smoking Aces is a victim of its own aspirations. It tries to be incredibly complex, but ends up being a bit confusing if you're trying to follow it too closely. Either way, it's a daft, fun film that shouldn't be taken too seriously. If you like your gangster films gritty and violent - and aren't bothered by a few plot inconsistencies - give it a go. It's not half as bad as some of the other reviewers are making out. It's no classic, but it's worth a watch nonetheless.

Overall, this movie wasn't very enjoyable. It felt like the directors never knew what to make of it. Is it a shoot em up, a comedy, a drama, a series of criminal events with a twist; it never could maintain a theme. Additionally there were too many characters and subplots. For all they had going on, you need a slower better paced movie, but this one was trying to be flashy and stylish too. There were a lot of interesting characters, but we never got to know them that well. Jeremy Piven's seemed like it could have been good with a little humor added they never took him that way. Overall, lots of good pieces, lots of interesting characters, lots of potential, but this movie tried to be a little bit of everything and ended up not being much of anything.