Smokin' Aces doesn't fire on all cylinders
Having read several reviews regarding Smokin' Aces directed by Joe Carahan (Narc, 2002), I was intrigued by the fact that many writers compared the film to the genre of movie similar to the styles of director Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill, 2004), director Guy Ritchie (Snatch, 2000) and the film Lucky Number Slevin (2006) directed by Paul McGuigan.
However, after viewing the film I could not agree with them, as Smokin' Aces was somewhat disappointing.
The movie begins with characters and storylines being thrown at you one-hundred-miles an hour with numerous plotlines surfacing within the first twenty minutes of the film, leaving me mildly confused.
The basic plot of Smokin' Aces revolves around a Las Vegas entertainer, Buddy ‘Aces' Israel (Jeremy Piven, “Entourage”) who becomes a snitch in order to cover himself and help the FBI bring down the mob by having Israel testify against them.
When the word gets out that Israel and the FBI are working out a deal, a bounty of one million dollars is placed on Israel's life, subsequently attracting many of the most ruthless, gruesome and professional hit-men/women to track down Israel.
The film features an all-star cast including, Ryan Reynolds and Ray Liotta as head FBI agents, Andy Garcia as the director of the FBI, as well as Ben Affleck and musician-turned-actor Alicia Keys who were among the hit-men/women.
I enjoy Reynolds' acting and I believe he will eventually be a solid ‘class-A' actor, but until he blows me away with a masterpiece performance, which he does not in this film, I will always picture him providing ‘stress relief' on his pet dog in Van Wilder.
Liotta, Garcia, and Keys' performances were nothing special, however Keys did an incredible job at looking stunningly gorgeous throughout the film, as shallow as that sounds.
The performance by Piven was well suited, and he played the character fantastically, transforming throughout the course of the movie from a confident, handsome, playboy to an unshaven, drug addicted, has-been, left with no where to turn.
Without giving anything away, the fact that Affleck's character is given only a limited role is definitely a plus for the film, considering Affleck's acting ability is reminiscent of a really bad high-school student who does not realize that he/she should give up their aspirations of studying dramatic arts and making it big.
Although I was disappointed with Smokin' Aces, I cannot say it totally blew. The action sequences, gore, and random gunplay made for some very entertaining moments and great violent scenes, but the chaotic storyline and rather lame ending make this film a one-time-DVD-rental type movie.
However, after viewing the film I could not agree with them, as Smokin' Aces was somewhat disappointing.
The movie begins with characters and storylines being thrown at you one-hundred-miles an hour with numerous plotlines surfacing within the first twenty minutes of the film, leaving me mildly confused.
The basic plot of Smokin' Aces revolves around a Las Vegas entertainer, Buddy ‘Aces' Israel (Jeremy Piven, “Entourage”) who becomes a snitch in order to cover himself and help the FBI bring down the mob by having Israel testify against them.
When the word gets out that Israel and the FBI are working out a deal, a bounty of one million dollars is placed on Israel's life, subsequently attracting many of the most ruthless, gruesome and professional hit-men/women to track down Israel.
The film features an all-star cast including, Ryan Reynolds and Ray Liotta as head FBI agents, Andy Garcia as the director of the FBI, as well as Ben Affleck and musician-turned-actor Alicia Keys who were among the hit-men/women.
I enjoy Reynolds' acting and I believe he will eventually be a solid ‘class-A' actor, but until he blows me away with a masterpiece performance, which he does not in this film, I will always picture him providing ‘stress relief' on his pet dog in Van Wilder.
Liotta, Garcia, and Keys' performances were nothing special, however Keys did an incredible job at looking stunningly gorgeous throughout the film, as shallow as that sounds.
The performance by Piven was well suited, and he played the character fantastically, transforming throughout the course of the movie from a confident, handsome, playboy to an unshaven, drug addicted, has-been, left with no where to turn.
Without giving anything away, the fact that Affleck's character is given only a limited role is definitely a plus for the film, considering Affleck's acting ability is reminiscent of a really bad high-school student who does not realize that he/she should give up their aspirations of studying dramatic arts and making it big.
Although I was disappointed with Smokin' Aces, I cannot say it totally blew. The action sequences, gore, and random gunplay made for some very entertaining moments and great violent scenes, but the chaotic storyline and rather lame ending make this film a one-time-DVD-rental type movie.
