 | |
List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Universal Studios
Salesrank: 16938
Released: April 17, 2007 |
| Our Price: $7.67 |
| Used Price: $1.49 |
|
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
Slick Las Vegas illusionist Buddy "Aces" Israel isn't playing nice. Turns out, he's telling mob secrets to the FBI. After a $1 million contract is put out on him, Aces tries to pull his greatest disappearing act before a rogues' gallery of ex-cons, hit men and smokin' hot assassins tries to rub him out in this dark action comedy that takes no prisoners.
Description of Smokin' Aces (Full Screen Edition):
A frantic and frequently amusing cocktail of Tarantino cool and Hong Kong bullet ballet, Joe (Narc) Carnahan's Smokin' Aces delivers some inspired moments of action and dark comedy in its dizzying-comic book plot about a rogue's gallery of killers on the hunt for a mob informer. At the core of Carnahan's bloody shaggy-dog tale is Buddy Israel (Jeremy Piven, offering a more desperate take on his standard hustler persona), a Vegas magician who's turned informant against the mobsters who have treated him as their personal entertainment. Wishing to close Buddy's overactive mouth permanently, the mob capo puts a bounty on the two-bit showman's head, and a horde of hitmen descends on Buddy's digs to claim the prize. The unholy crew of gunmen offer the movie's most inspired (and outlandish) moments, with R&B singer Alicia Keys (as a cool, Foxy Brown-esque assassin), Nestor Carbonell (as a torture-minded sadist), Ben Affleck and Peter Berg (low-key bail bondsmen) and Chris Pine (the leader of a trio of semi-savage brothers) among the more memorable villains. Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, and Andy Garcia represent the other side of the coin as FBI agents determined to get to Buddy before the legion of doom, and the clashes between both factions produce some eye-popping gunplay. If there's any complaint to be made about Smokin' Aces, it's that the tone shifts between action-drama and hipster comedy feel forced (Carnahan struck a firmer balance between the two in his 1998 indie effort, Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane), but the performances and shootout set pieces, as well as Carnahan's hyperactive camera work, do much to make those transitions palatable. Eagle-eyed audience members will note the presence veteran scene stealers Curtis Armstrong (Ray), David Proval (The Sopranos), and Alex Rocco (The Godfather's Moe Green) in supporting roles. -- Paul Gaita
Smokin' Aces (Full Screen Edition) Reviews:
Fun Action Film 
2009-12-14 - Not a movie that you will watch over and over, but it is fun the first time through.
Buy used and you won't be disappointed.
crazy cool movie 
2009-09-12 - This is a guy movie all around. There are a lot of one liners, crazy over the top action, and if you take your action movies too serious well you problably won't like it. Good looking guys and hot babes all around. Ray Layota is superb. Everybody has a even amount of play time. The weapons are really cool too.
Shoot `Em Up 
2009-07-03 - Smokin' Aces is definitely a rock `em, sock `em ensemble-type film. The story line comes off as a backdrop for the multitude of good and great performances.
Taraji Henson delivers a character role that deserves an award. As Sharice Watters, a hit-woman, she belts out dialogue with panache, worth the DVD viewing time, alone. I was reminded of Mercedes Ruell, as Anne Napolitano, in The Fisher King; a role that won Ms. Ruell an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1991. It would make sense to me that Ms. Henson would be nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in her 2008 role of Queenie, in the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. This woman can act!
Not all the characters fit the bill: Ryan Reynolds, as Richard Messner, FBI agent, is more of a bumbling, likable guy that is given too many lines and too much camera time. He doesn't stand a chance letting it rip with Andy Garcia.
The list of quirky and over-the-top characters goes on. It's bloody violent, and lots of everything that would be consider "over-the-top". Actually, Smokin' Aces is much more "Shoot `Em Up" than the 2007 film starring Clive Owen, another film you wouldn't want to take seriously.
Fantastic!
2009-02-18 - I was able to buy this movie at a terrific price! The movie arrived very quickly and it was brand new as described. I couldn't be happier! Thank you very much! A+++++++!!!!!!!!
Jeremy Piven had to really be on coke when they shot that last sceen
2009-01-02 - As usual I'm not going to go over the plot as a few hundred people here have done, suffice to say this movie is actually pretty good Sat night entertainment. Some people here are being negative because of it's unrealistic story and plot holes, what movie does not have those?? Uh HELLO, this is an ACTION movie and should be judged as such, especially with a title like "Smoking Aces". I judge movies on their merits in their category, I don't put action movies up against a Drama, Romance etc. Most of the assassins were pretty interesting but of course they were not investigated in any depth. I was a little disappointed in Alicia Keys and partners characters, using the stereo-typical "Black Slang" and using the "N" word thru-out the movie, but they redeemed themselves somewhat by having the best action sequences of the film. Keys partner is a chick with a 50cal sniper rifle, and she brings the HEAT by absolutely shredding some FBI agents in the next building. There were a couple of glaring Assassin and Police mistakes, like when Keys partner goes to another room for a better line-of-site shot and leaves the door open behind her, just in time for the FBI to come and shoot her in the back. (I'm pretty sure Assassins cover their back, that's Assassin 101) Also the highly trained FBI agents know they are taking fire from a monster sniper rifle from another building, yet they stand up and respond with mere pistols, and a SHOTGUN?? Do you know what the spread is on buckshot?? If your not standing right in front of a person, all that shot just spreads out, just dumb. Common and his typical diatribe was unnecessary, to say the least but at least some Black people survived. Anyway, the story was not bad but the action was some of the best gunfight scenes I have witnessed in awhile. Absolutely kinetic. You can tell the directors were trying to copy the standard of Asian action movie gunfights, and they come close but Asian flicks of even 20 years ago (See John Woo) are still some of the greatest gun battles ever committed to celluloid. Anyway, this movie is a good action flick and should not be easily dismissed.
