After reviewing several films I liked or loved, I figured it was about time to go negative. I really did not like this movie. Smokin' Aces was made in 2006, written and directed by Joe Carnahan. Carnahan created the excellent cop movie Narc back in 2002, and had assembled a huge cast for this picture. The personnel behind it, combined with a good marketing campaign had me revved up for it right on through the trailers in the movie theater. And then I actually watched the film.
Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven) is a small time Vegas performer who has inside info on a big time mob boss and is going to rat him out. The FBI is placing him under witness protection when the hit gets put out on Israel. Plenty of hitmen line up to take a crack at Israel, all on the same day, as the FBI tries frantically to keep him alive. Not exactly the most original plot, but one I could stand if it was accompanied by the appropriate amounts of comedy and action. This film had neither.
Carnahan fails to strike up any real humor, Piven plays Israel like a coked-out Ari Gold, and the host of otherworldly hitmen merely come off as bizarre. The giant cast is mostly adequate, but there are a few swing and misses. Nobody really deserves special mention. The only two people with even moderately watchable moments are the rapper Common as Israel's bodyguard, and Ryan Reynolds as one of the FBI agents. Even they only do enough to get by.
With sparse action this film feels a lot longer than its 109 minutes, and never really finds itself. I won't spoil it for those of you who wish to subject yourselves, but the conclusion is especially botched as it essentially negates the purpose of the entire film. All things considered it is mostly unoriginal, boring, and actually pretty depressing despite the fact that I didn't care about anybody the entire film. Bad things for a comic book movie.
By the way, in case your interested a sequel was just released this year called Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball. I will leave you to draw your own conclusions there as I probably won't be seeing it.
8/30
