Review of Smokin' Aces (2006) by Shane K — 17 Oct 2010

A movie I think is unfairly maligned. It has it's obvious flaws. Broad (to say the least) characters, clunky attempts to incorporate humour (the ADD kid for one) & the action when it finally does come is sloppily shot & paced.

Those major flaws aside, the film is still enjoyable & dare I say it cleverly constructed shlock. Essentially nothing of any real note happens in the first hour, but it's a compelling nothing. A lot of the performances misfire Jason Bateman's neurotic shtick doesn't really gel, but mercifully he's only on screen for a brief time, but there are also a few diamonds in the rough.

Chris Pine hams it up to a suitable degree as the leader of a trio of "redneck speedfreak Nazi" assassins. Ditto for Taraji P Henson, who channels the grit of a blaxpoitation heroine as the firebrand half of 2 woman hit team (the other half being Alicia Keys, who won't be winning any awards, but is still watchable) Ryan Reynolds manages the amazing, & actually transcends the inherent shlock of the material & manages to inject a few fleeting moments of discernible pathos into his performance.

Besides the aforementioned sloppy action scenes, the film's visual style actually does suit the fleeting shots that jump back & forth between the various strands of the plot. In spite of the general fast pace there are instances where will linger on a scene, & the contrast with the usual nippier pace does result in dramatic tension.

In summation, Smoking Aces isn't going to be troubling the AFI top ten (or 1000 to be honest) & the fact that it didn't sweep the Oscars that year was a shock to noone. On it's own terms however, as nihilistic action shlock, it works.