Review of Smokin' Aces (2006) by Maksim B — 13 May 2012

A Quentin Tarantino vs. Guy Ritchie -style of mumbo-jumbo action, adventure, crime and dark humor, Smokin's Aces is a polarizing movie that starts promising, maintains a certain level of decency in the middle part and disastrously flops in the final minutes. Trying to be original and stylish, its violent and messy scenes and chaotic story-telling add up nothing memorable to the content of the movie.

Its flashy Las Vegas gangster setting feels quite fresh in the beginning and surely one is ready to forgive the chaotic introduction of the cast. Without much humor, but with loads of sickening scenes the story moves on in a decent pace. At one point following the story becomes uneasy and the supposedly cult cast and movie starts taking itself quite seriously. The moments of Jeremy Piven's personal catharsis are all but enjoyable.

In addition to this, the stellar cast does not really bring any memorable performances. Meant to be Tarantino or Guy Ritchie-cool, the cast never impresses. Given the names of Affleck, Andy Garcia, Ray Liotta and even Ryan Reynolds this is a huge disappointment. The best example of how perfectly forgettable their performances are, is the fact that a month later (now,writing the review) , I barely remember their acting.

Giving Smokin' Aces even a passable score is difficult. Certainly there is something to be enjoyed in the movie, but as a whole the movie is too messy, too chaotic and too unoriginal. Watchable, but quite mediocre.