Under Review: Smokin' Aces

Written and Directed by: Joe Carnahan

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jeremy Piven, Andy Garcia, Ray Liotta, Alicia Keys, Common, Ben Affleck, and Jason Bateman

The Set-Up:

Buddy “Aces” Israel (Jeremy Piven). Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year 5 straight years in a row. Magician extraordinaire. He also, recently, started dealings with the mob. These dealings have split the Sparazza family in two. Primo Sparazza is dying and it is tradition to kill your enemies before you die, so Sparazza is paying $1 million to the person who brings him Israel’s heart. Israel has just made a deal with the FBI to snitch on members of the mob, so the FBI wants him alive. Israel is under protective custody and has been hiding out in the penthouse suite of Lake Tahoe’s Nomad Hotel and Casino. Three ex-cop bail bondsmen, seven hitmen, a mysterious Swede, and the FBI all merge on the penthouse level of the Nomad Hotel and Casino… All Hell Breaks Loose.

The Review:

“Badass” is a word that comes to mind when reviewing this movie. It’s a massively insane set-up that you just have to love because of how insane it is. This movie takes its time. Some people did not like this, but I ate it all up. Most of the movie is setting up for the last half hour or so, and boy is that half hour a doozy.

The hitmen were my favorite part of the movie. They were very colorful, imaginative, and interesting to watch. Even their names were cool as hell. Sharice Watters and Georgia Sykes (Alicia Keys) were the only hit-women of the group. Georgia was going undercover as a prostitute, because Israel goes through a bunch of prostitutes in the movie. Sharice is covering her from a room in the hotel across the street. The gun she uses is like something out of Alien. Oh… and Sharice is in love with Georgia. Then there’s Pasqual Acosta aka El Estrago (The Plague). Acosta is known for the methods by which he tortures his victims, most notably with a metal spike that comes out of his sleeve. And there’s Lazlo Soot, a mercenary for hire. His specialty is disguise. No one knows anything about his background or even what he looks like. And, saving the best for last, there are the Tremor brothers. Oh goodness… the Tremor brothers. They don’t really have a method or specialty. They just deal in carnage and mayhem. They craziest group of guys I’ve seen on screen in a while.

Affleck, Bateman, and Garcia walked through their roles. Their performances weren’t exceptional, but they were good for what they were. The standouts in my eyes were Jeremy Piven, Ray Liotta, and Ryan Reynolds. They were just solid in their roles. Jeremy Piven gives us an Aces that goes from happy-go-lucky on stage, to a complete asshole, to a cracked out man clinging to his last shards of humanity. Ray Liotta… is just Ray Liotta. He gets overlooked a lot, but he has his moments in this movie. It’s Ryan Reynolds that steals the show as FBI agent Richard Messner. His character just has a bad day in this movie. Ryan Reynolds plays it to perfection.

I just loved this movie. There’s too much to talk about in this little bit of space. It’s an exercise in coolness. It’s not shy about it either. It’s not screaming “Look at me! Look at me!”… but it gets your attention nonetheless.

Favorite Quote: (Moving Ben Affleck's mouth so Affleck seems to be talking to him) “Don't worry, I forgive you for what you did." --Chris Pine as Darwin Tremor

Rating: 9.5/10