Directed by:
Joe CarnahanScreenplay:
Joe CarnahanCinematography:
Mauro FioreComposer:
Clint MansellCast:
Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Alex Rocco, Wayne Newton, Jeremy Piven, Ben Affleck, Peter Berg, Martin Henderson, Common, Andy Garcia, Mike Falkow, Alicia Keys (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
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. (official distributor synopsis)
Videos (3)
Reviews (8)
When someone tries to be above it all, inventive, and original, it doesn't always work out. Once a more capable screenwriter writes Joe Carnahan a good, action-packed script with lifelike characters, there will be a great chance of creating a fantastic action film (all hail The A-Team). However, as long as the director writes self-indulgent, intertwined stories with a disgusting excess of characters, the audience will only receive the divine action without a more meaningful plot. There are several major plotholes in the script that, even though I am usually tolerant of action crime movies, scream very loudly. The main one is undoubtedly the fact that although Buddy seemingly has reliable protection around him, he often remains alone and vulnerable. I also disliked the deliberately exaggerated endurance of the bullet-ridden heroes who keep breathing even with a magazine in their body. Despite countless characters in the movie, there is only one you can identify with better – the tough and determined agent portrayed by the fantastic and charismatic Ryan Reynolds. The rest are heartless bureaucrats, tough black women, or even perverted neo-Nazis. Reynolds is responsible for the best non-action moment of the film – a stylish and badass ending, thanks to which the taste of the film remains much better than it deserves.
()
After a bit of time goes by that is diligently devoted to thinking, and after a second viewing, I finally came to like this film that is Carnahan's baby. It is true that the trailers promised something completely different, but the result is an entertaining stylistic film that is definitely currently above average (let's blame it on clever marketing this time). Mainly thanks to the perfect direction and excellent casting (Ryan Reynolds is great!), this rather disparate whole holds together quite well. Unfortunately, as is still apparent, Carnahan isn’t a great screenwriter (Buddy's existential drama), but he's more than adept as a craftsman (changing one cool camera unit after another, the actual shooting races). He definitely can’t be compared to Guy Ritchie because they are both playing on completely different fields. This film is a much crazier and at times twisted spectacle, which is certainly not boring, but it is true that when a director makes a pure action spectacle, those far beyond the borders of Hollywood will bow down to him.
()
Director Carnahan beat screenwriter Carnahan in a short sprint by several lengths. The first two acts are an audiovisual ride with some fresh ideas, in the style of Ritchie's best flicks, but towards the end, the engine of the sports car stutters in such a way that it parks in a garage with a sign saying "Reynolds' Fateful Drama" and slowly dies there. If they had let the sports car go past the finish line and not stepped on the brake, it would have been worth four medals.
()
On one hand, it's unnecessarily long and drawn out, yet on the other hand, there are excellent acting performances (led by the cool Ben Affleck), great individual scenes, excellent action, and disarming stylization. What is unforgivable, however, is the weak story that is so piecemeal that it is a) impossible to navigate and b) almost completely unengaging. Carnahan has talent but it would be better if he made movies based on screenplays by someone else.
()
Smokin’ Aces is essentially just another variation on the music-video-inspired crime flick in the style of Guy Ritchie that won’t surprise you with anything new. However, the adrenaline-fuelled dynamics and the exposition of the bad guys are at a high level, and if the film had a slightly slower build-up with a more thorough introduction of the characters, the bloodbath climax could have not only faked BIG EMOTIONS, but actually evoked them. And then it would rank among the better gangster cult movies. Joe Carnahan’s slapdash dramaturgy weakens the impression that the film makes as a whole and leaves “only” the visual/editing treats (something similar could perhaps be said about the first Kill Bill, but that film has the benefit of Tarantino’s more original concept).
()
Ads