Smokin' Aces Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)February 2nd, 2007
"Aces" - Goes up in Smoke
by Homer Yen
(c) 2007
Nah, fuhgettabout it. "Smoking Aces" suffers
from that syndrome where the trailer is far more
interesting than the actual film. This film
about mobmen and hitmen and various thugs is a
desperate wannabe. And at the same time, I'm not
even sure what the film wants to be. It lacks
the classic feel of "GoodFellas" while missing
the cool invective of "Pulp Fiction." It's a
two-handed shoot-em-up film, but it seems like
the more bullet shells that fall upon the ground,
the more insipid this film becomes.
The film does start off interestingly enough,
featuring a dying mob boss who is under
surveillance by two FBI agents (Ray Liotta and
Ryan Reynolds). Holed up in the back of a white
cargo van, filled wall-to-wall with camera and
sound devices, the two eagerly spy on their
quarry hoping to get a hint of something big
that's about to go down. And then they catch a
whiff of something. A $1 million bounty will be
awarded to anyone who can assassinate Buddy
"Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven).
Israel is a Vegas showman who mixes Rat-Pack
Cool, Amazing Jonathan smugness, and Lance Burton
grace. Yet despite that neat description, that's
much more character development than the film
gives this character. Sheesh! Israel early on
becomes a favorite of the Mob operating under
Vegas's neon lights. His stage show is a hit as
are his illicit ways. His cocaine habit seems to
cloud his ability to stay sharp, and in a strange
chain of events, he may turn over to the state
evidence against those that helped him rise to
criminal stardom in exchange for immunity from
prosecution. The current boss, Primo Sparazza
(Joseph Ruskin) like any other honorable
respectable bad guy, wants Israel dead.
Much of this backdrop is summarized very quickly
to help the audience catch up to present-day
activities. The film doesn't seem to really
bother with broader character development. And
yet, a developed story of how Israel went from
lounge act to showcase entertainer to wicked
mastermind to stool pigeon would have made for a
fascinating tale.
With the word out on the streets, the most
vicious and daring killers will converge on
Israel's whereabouts, which is a posh penthouse
atop one of Lake Tahoe's premiere casinos. Just
as there's very little effort made to develop our
target of a dozen killers, less effort is made to
develop those dozen killers. It includes the
likes of a few bail bondsmen (who have no idea
what they are about to come up against), a pair
of females equipped with high powered rifles, a
loner who is a master of disguise, three
skinheads that prefer the subtle beauty of a
chainsaw through the torso, and a foreign freedom
fighter who once chewed off his fingertips so
that the authorities could not get his
fingerprints. Niiiice...
If "Smoking Aces" works at all, it only works as
a series of short bursts. There is a tense scene
in an elevator when an FBI agent makes a
startling discovery. There are some moments of
absurd humor because, I suppose, a half-naked
neo-nazi vigorously chewing on a carrot isn't
something you see every day. All in all, the
film is fun for about only 30 minutes. More off
than offbeat, "Smoking Aces" is a revved-up mess.
Grade: C
S: 2 out of 3
L: 3 out of 3
V: 3 out of 3
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