Review of Smokin' Aces (2006) by Jason D — 05 Mar 2013

Smokin' Aces takes an insanely large (and popular) ensemble cast and pits them all against each other as elusive mob boss Primo Sparazza puts a hit out on sleazy magician turned FBI informant Buddy "Ace" Israel (Jeremy Piven).

As FBI agents Ryan Reynolds and Ray Liotta make their way to him, they are bombarded by a large array of characters coming together at Ace's hotel suite at a casino in Lake Tahoe Nevada. In the mix are a female duo (singer Alicia Keys and pre-Oscar nominated Taraji P.

Henson), Spanish Torturer (Nestor Carbonell, from The Dark Knight and TV's Lost), bail bondsmen (Ben Affleck, Peter Berg, & Martin Henderson in some very clever roles), the Tremor Brothers (pre-Star Trek Chris Pine, Kevin Durand, and Maury Sterling, a vicious mimicker (Tommy Flanagan), and the list goes on and on.

Jason Bateman and Matthew Fox also show up in the film's more funnier moments. Director Joe Carnahan (Narc), who also wrote this film, depicts a fairly clever and overly entertaining romp that, despite it's somewhat long running time, goes by very quickly (which isn't a bad thing).

It's completely off the wall and sometimes campy, but the action delivers, as does the violence and bloodshed. Each and every character, no matter how long or shortly they appear on film manages to be dynamic and loud in a good way without barely a single misfire.

I remember thinking this film was honestly nothing special upon first viewing, but after another couple of views, I gotta say that this is a pretty engaging film. The film's 180 degree turn finale that completely changes the mood (which seemed to have bothered many folks) was a nice cherry on top.

Also, here's a shocker: Ryan Reynolds keeps his shirt on throughout the entire film! Overall, great movie.