Latest reviews about Smokin' Aces (2007) 109 minutes

wellow says "It Should Have Been Called "Bloody Aces"" about Smokin' Aces (2007) 109 minutes

wellow — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:24:22 GMT

An FBI agent hunts for a Las Vegas stand up comic who has decided to squeal on the mob, BUT before he heads off for protective custody, he decides to go to the casinos at Lake Tahoe for one last good time, while drawing a crowd of assassins.

You'll find some pretty decent performances by Alicia Keys among others, but needless to say, Smokin' Aces has way too much violence, however, if you're a person who likes a lot of blood, then this is the movie for you.

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TheBard says "Ahh, why?" about Smokin' Aces (2007) 109 minutes

TheBard — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:34:26 GMT

Bottom-Line: As the movie closes one of the characters, banged up and bleeding pleads with another to "Make it make sense." Too Late!

Written and directed by Joe Carnahan (Narc) Smokin' Aces reaches back into now familiar territory-the Mob-to tell it tale, only this time with a twist at the very end. Buddy Israel (Jeremy Piven - Ellen, The Larry Sanders Show, Entourage) is a Las Vegas showman gone bad; that is he is attracted more the dark side of the city of perpetual light, than the happy, sunny side. Now he has turned state's evidence and everyone wants him dead, even his alleged mentor Primo Sparazza (Joseph Ruskin - The Untouchables, Mission Impossible, Alias), and there is a 1 million dollar bounty on his head.

My Viewpoint

Smokin' Aces is far too typical of the debauchery coming out of Hollywood these days to be even mildly enjoyable. Each character plays his or clique-riddled part with equal aplomb to be sure, but the plot while it could have been promising, was too full...

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skippytjc says "Not what I expected" about Smokin' Aces (2007) 109 minutes

skippytjc — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 01:04:58 GMT

I was expecting the movie that the trailers advertised: Fast paced extreme violence from the first second to the very end with a simple plot to drive it. But what I got was a movie that was deeper than that and with about half the fast paced violence I was promised.

But is this a bad thing? I have not really figured that out yet. On one side, I was totally unhappy that I did not get what I wanted when I bought the movie. On the other, the deeper plot and the surprisingly fair acting was a pleasant surprise. I had no idea that Ryan Reynolds could actually act (and I'm a fan too!).

Bottom line is I didn't get what I wanted, but the movie wasn't bad at all. I was promised a movie that was a cross between Oceans 11 and Natural Born Killers, but got a decent movie that was a lot different. If I knew that going in I would have liked it more.

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renfield1969 says "Good action, nonsensical ending" about Smokin' Aces (2007) 109 minutes

renfield1969 — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:30:36 GMT

The actors have interesting roles, and the plot has everything to love about it. The killers are interesting, do their jobs in interesting ways, and there are twists and turns galore.

Unfortunately, the film hinges on the big revealed secret at the end. A secret which on the one hand was obvious from the beginning, but when fully explained is completely stupid.

Most of the violence, while gratuitous, serves as good action, but one has to wonder why anyone - especially highly trained FBI agents - would try to return fire with a handgun out a window at a building 1000 yards away. They had to know that someone was shooting at them with a high-powered rifle, and not only would their handgun bullets not reach their target at all to even throw off their assailant's aim, they would be risking untold civilian casualties.

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ChrisJarmick says "Anyway you look at it, 'Smokin' is bad for you. Time-waster." about Smokin' Aces (2007) 109 minutes

ChrisJarmick — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 20:00:40 GMT

Smokin' Aces had a huge marketing push earlier this year. Jeremy Piven hot off all the awards he's deservedly getting playing Ari the obsessive, success driven agent on H.B.O.'s Entourage has a pivotal but rather small role here. Lots of folks appear in this one: Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Alicia Keys, Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta. Peter Berg and Andy Garcia.

The question is why they bothered? It's a violent, 'feds versus gangsters and hitmen' movie. Nothing new.. except there's a convoluted (confusing) back-story that sorta' pays off (making an ending that I suppose was going for the Usual Suspects kind of thing). The script is not original and features lame dialogue. The direction is showy and full of fast cuts and music video tricks--but we've seen most of this many. many times before.

If you are attracted to this because of the trailers, or because of the stars, you are going to be let down. Most of the stars have one slightly interesting gimmick and have little...

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