May the best hitman win.
Mob boss Primo Sparazza has taken out a hefty contract on Buddy "Aces" Israel, a sleazy magician who has agreed to turn state's evidence against the Vegas mob. The FBI, sensing a chance to use this small-time con to bring down big-target Sparazza, places Aces into protective custody-under the supervision of two agents dispatched to Aces' Lake Tahoe hideout. When the word of the price on Aces' head spreads into the community of ex-cons and cons-to-be, it entices bounty hunters, thugs-for-hire, deadly vixens and double-crossing mobsters to join in the hunt. With all eyes on Tahoe, this rogues' gallery collides in a comic race to hit the jackpot and rub out Aces.
Genre(s): Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Runtime: 109 minutes
Rating: 6.6/10 (49,914 votes)
Release Date: 9 December 2006
Country: UK, France, USA
Languages: English
Company: Universal Pictures
Sound: DTS, Dolby Digital, SDDS
MPAA: Rated R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language, some nudity and drug use.
Director(s): Joe Carnahan
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Producer(s):
Jeff Abberley - executive producer: Scion Films
Tim Bevan - producer
Julia Blackman - executive producer: Scion Films
Liza Chasin - executive producer
Noel Donnellon - producer: title sequence
Eric Fellner - producer
Robert Graf - executive producer
David Z. Obadiah - producer: title sequence
Writer(s):
Joe Carnahan - (written by)
Cast:
Ryan Reynolds - Richard Messner
Ray Liotta - Donald Carruthers
Joseph Ruskin - Primo Sparazza
Alex Rocco - Serna
Wayne Newton - Himself
Jeremy Piven - Buddy Israel
Ben Affleck - Jack Dupree
Peter Berg - "Pistol" Pete Deeks
Martin Henderson - Hollis Elmore
Common - Sir Ivy
Music: Clint Mansell
Jeff Abberley - executive producer: Scion Films
Tim Bevan - producer
Julia Blackman - executive producer: Scion Films
Liza Chasin - executive producer
Noel Donnellon - producer: title sequence
Eric Fellner - producer
Robert Graf - executive producer
David Z. Obadiah - producer: title sequence
Writer(s):
Joe Carnahan - (written by)
Cast:
Ryan Reynolds - Richard Messner
Ray Liotta - Donald Carruthers
Joseph Ruskin - Primo Sparazza
Alex Rocco - Serna
Wayne Newton - Himself
Jeremy Piven - Buddy Israel
Ben Affleck - Jack Dupree
Peter Berg - "Pistol" Pete Deeks
Martin Henderson - Hollis Elmore
Common - Sir Ivy
Music: Clint Mansell
Posted on: March 27, 2008
July 29th, 2008
All hell breaks lose when a Las Vegas performer(Piven) snitches on themob and is going to testify and various underworld characters want himdead. The film is shot in a way that might make it a bit hard to watchand confusing, but if one follows the intricate plot, i think carnahanhas effectively weaved a good mafia/crime caper flick. I liked Pivenhere, as he hardly doesn't impress in mye eyes, but Reynolds was alsovery good, and is starting to grow on me (Van Wilder is stepping it up)and Ray Liotta was good as well. Overall i guess my one complaint wasthat some of the dialogues seemed a bit unnatural, but other than thatit was very good and its one of those films i could watch again. IMDbRating: 6.6. My Rating: 9/10
September 23rd, 2008
Let's face the truth here, guys: we live in an era when "action" moviespretty much consist of a man with a dying son/wife/mother/whatever and¾ of the movie plays out as Lifetime TV drama, while maybe 5 minutes ofthe screen time actually have action. The days when "action" actuallymeant its own literal definition are dead. Writers and directors nowthink they have to characterize a cliché character in conventional waysor their movie is bad. They can't just create a character who actuallyhas, you know, CHARACTER, they have to build an "emotional"(melodramatic) plot around a clichéd "emotional" situation, and putactual action on the side. If they're feeling risky, however, they haveto make a complex plot about cliché terrorists and then spend over halfthe runtime with conversation scenes trying to force the audience tounderstand their cliché plot that we understood from the first trailer.
Sadly, most of Smokin' Aces fits into the latter category. Instead ofthe word "terrorist" on the script they typed "mob", but the structureis still identical. It is very slow-moving, despite what the reviews onhere want to say. The first half of the movie is at a standstill, wherethere is pretty much no action. The second half is purestraight-forward gunfights and explosions, and unlike typical actionmovies, once the action does start it does not stop for anything. Atleast the writer/director got most of it right. But more importantly, Ican't point to a single spot in the film where I was bored.
The reason I wasn't bored during the standstill time is because thecharacters are not clichés. They all do things you'd never think you'dsee happen in an action movie, and they all have Character. I simplycannot say this enough: they are actually memorable, and not justsomething to drive the plot. The characters have CHARACTER. Why can'tthe rest of Hollywood understand that concept? As far as the actionitself goes, it's pretty good. There are more deaths than I even thoughpossible for this film, and some of the kills are just freakingamazing. Unlike all the reviews are stating, this isn't really a gorymovie, though. The gunshots have little blood splatter, if any, and themore gruesome deaths are almost always done in ways to block thegraphicness.
The plot twist in the end made me smile. After so manywalk-off-into-the-sunset endings, it was very nice to see a film thatactually attempted to have a good ending. Really, I just can't think ofany real major flaw the movie had—it was your perfect pointless actionmovie. Watch it.
2/10
October 3rd, 2008
Everybody wants to kill somebody. And everybody is after the sametarget for different reasons. This movie is about the 'Land of Hitmen'. But beyond that, it nose-dives into nothingness about what to dowhen you find your target.
Set up in Vegas, hit men are going after some magician. After that, thedetails on who is trying to kill who gets a little muddy. Turns outsome of the good guys are really bad guys in for the kill. And some ofthe bad guys are not really wanting to kill the guy, but be there forthe promised reward.
I did like the role Ryan Renolds played in this movie. However, BenAffleck was not a fit for this movie. In fact, he is a better fit forfamily oriented movies. Andy Garcia can do these films all day long andnot break a sweat.
The plot of confusion is played perfectly. But for me, the confusedplot and misguided actors was not something I liked to see. The set upwas nice, but the script was not.
Overall, slightly below average. "C-"
October 30th, 2008
Boring.
This movie has some very silly moments. Mostly, it seems to revolvearound a plot that has no point. Jeremy Piven is a talented actor andis engaging, but he's given nothing to do. The rest of the cast hassimilar difficulties.
Where in the world was the script writer? Ben Affleck in general is notnearly as bad as his detractors would say.
In fact, in this movie, it might have benefited from a greater rolefrom him.
All in all, a waste of time.
November 7th, 2008
Jeremy Piven plays Buddy Israel, Las Vegas magician who's going to turnin some mob buddies to the feds. The mob puts a bounty on his head andall sort of hit-men and hit-women respond to the call. Meanwhile theFBI must get to Buddy before the contract killers do. Sounds simple,right?
This movie tries very hard to include every cliché available, everyethnic gangster around. It is a basically a rip-off of Guy Ritchie's"Snatch" while trying to achieve the edginess of Tarantino. While thecast and cameos seem good on paper, this movie turns into crap after 30minutes. Watch it on cable if you have nothing better to do on a Fridaynight. but more for laughs than anything else.
The good: 1. Ray Liotta, who somehow has fallen low or needs money. Himand Ryan Reynolds seemed believable as FBI agents. 2. Jason Bateman'sshort cameo and dialogue is hilarious. 3. Alicia Keys looked hotdressed as a hooker.
The bad: 1. Neo-Nazi skinhead psychotic killers who look straight outof Mad Max , The Doom Generation, or the Devil's Rejects. Were theysupposed to be comic relief? 2. The Master of Disguise manages tocreates these masks in like 5 minutes and no one ever detects him. 3.Cops and security guards are beyond idiocy. 4. Female empowerment rantmade no sense. 5. Dramatic music didn't fit into this movie. 6. Whenthe final plot is revealed, you're left thinking WTF?.. 7. Story is toooutlandish. 8. what was the purpose of the ADHD kid? 9. Was the Estragoor the Nazis supposed to represent for this film, what Bullet ToothTony meant for "Snatch"?
Good luck, gents.
November 29th, 2008
I would like to say nothing… but there is that 10 line rule!Anyways… it was odd, weird, stupid, but most likely appealed to somethat like the "new generation" of movies coming out.
So I suppose as long as you know what you are getting in for… it isokay.
Would be a good movie to watch at a party with a bunch of drunks. Youknow… instant gratification of action. Would not need to make sensesince you can't follow the story when you are drunk.
One question… what was up with the one-eyed / super-freak / obnoxiouskid?
There… I think that is 10 lines!
December 6th, 2008
I could sum this movie up in a few simple sentences. *SPOILER* A mobinformant has a million dollar bounty placed on his head to keep himfrom testifying. As a result, teams of exotic assassins converge on theVegas hotel where he is sequestered. Carnage ensues.
Sound exciting? It definitely is, especially after the cartoonish hitmen begin their attack. There's a team of bisexual African Americanwomen who employ a 50 caliber rifle…which means they make entirefloors of the motel explode. There's a team of English punk rock thugs,all mohawks and tattoos, who insist on using chainsaws and smokeeffects. There's even an assassin who murders one of the informer'sbodyguards so he can fashion a rubber-mask replica of his face. Andthis doesn't address the many incidental characters who wander in andout of the flick, like the karate kid with ADHD.
*SPOILER* But instead of being content with the wall to wall carnagethat is the middle portion of Smokin' Aces, the writers unnecessarilycomplicate the film with a sub-plot about organ transplants andhereditary links. It's so foolish, even in what is essentially afoolish film, that it's distracting. The plot twists around in crazydirections chasing its own tail.
But don't let that put you off. If you're an action film fan, even theridiculous resolution won't spoil it for you.
February 10th, 2009
For reasons I can't quite remember, I wanted to watch this when I firstspotted the trailer. But I've fallen for that old chestnut before andit looks like I've done it again. It's not a bad movie as such, filledto the brim with noisy gun fights, excessive language and colourfulcharacters. But like "Shoot 'Em Up", this is a blokes film for a blokesnight in – an ideal rental movie to be consumed with unsafe amount ofbeer and nachos and ultimately forgotten.
Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven) is a Vegas stage magician who dreamsof making it big – as a mobster alongside the dying mob boss PrimoSparazza (Joseph Ruskin). But when Sparazza learns that Buddy isturning into an FBI informant, he takes out a million dollar contracton the illusionist which attracts the attention of a wide variety ofhit-man, assassins and mercenaries. As they all home in on Buddy'spenthouse suite hideout, only the FBI's agents Carruthers (Ray Liotta)and Messner (Ryan Reynolds) stand in their way…
If you're looking for action by the bucket-load then chances are, youwon't find much more bang for your buck than "Smokin' Aces". It rarelygives the plot much chance to be told amid the near-constant barrage ofbullets. But at least it makes a decent stab at it, even if it israther predictable – the ending didn't hold much in the way of shocksfor me. So the plot's OK but that's really just the bones for hangingthe flesh of the action on and it all looks mighty fine. Instead ofgoing down the "Die Hard 4.0" route of near-total CG, this is ademonstration of classic wire-work and old-fashioned stunt work. Itmight lack the ambition of bigger budgeted rivals but that doesn't stopit from being an entertaining, if shallow blast. Acting is also merelyadequate – some characters aren't as defined as others (Israel himself,as the film's focal point, is criminally under-explained and overplayedby Piven) and dialogue seems to be rushed through at times. By the end,I'd almost lost interest as the body count kept ticking over and thefinal scenes were somewhat disappointing.
So is it a complete waste of time then? Of course not – if you likeyour action old-school then this may well float your boat, especiallyif you enjoyed the likes of "Shoot 'Em Up". Personally, I prefer "Shoot'Em Up" – it's funnier and not confused by an excess of characters butstill retains an extremely high of level of gun-soaked action andexplosive set pieces. "Smokin' Aces" has all the ingredients butsomehow finds itself falling short, whether due to limited ambition,budget or direction. Joe Carnahan isn't the most experienced ofdirectors and this is a long, LONG way from "Narc". Hopefully, theforthcoming prequel will be better because there is enough here tobelieve that this could have been great. But this is an unpolished gemand presumably there are enough fans out there to justify the prequelso maybe you'll enjoy it more than I did.