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Smokin' Aces - Not So Smokin'
Written by: Naomi Wiggins

Sometimes, it's hard to pay for movies. And by that statement, I don't mean that I have a habit of dashing into Hollywood Videos and rushing past the checkout counter with seventeen DVDs. But I do mean that sometimes when I hand my credit card over, I'm filled with a sense of anxiety, with trepidation and worry over whether the rental fee or ticket price I just paid will ultimately be money well spent.

There was no trepidation, no worry, no concern when paying for Smokin' Aces. My card seemed to fly out of my wallet, land in the cashier's hand with giggling relish and glide happily through the credit card machine, producing (I'm pretty sure) an auditory "Cha-Ching!" that echoed joyfully throughout the store.

Well . . . they sure got me.

Smokin' Aces is the story of Vegas entertainer Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven), his deal with the FBI to squeal on the mob in exchange for government protection and the rag-tag crew of thugs, ex-cons and hit men dispatched by mobster king Primo Sparazza (Joseph Ruskin) to rub him out. Or . . . at least it should be. Full of contrived plot twists and abrupt changes in tone that break the movie apart rather than mold it into a cohesive whole, Smokin Aces's attempt to be more than just a typical "shoot 'em up" flick causes it to bypass success in any and all categories.

Smokin' Aces begins with FBI Heavyweight Stanley Locke (Andy Garcia) dispatching Agents Carruthers (Ray Liotta) and Messner (Ryan Reynolds) to Aces' top-secret hideout in Lake Tahoe with orders to protect this potentially vital mob informant from attack. Of course nothing can be kept secret within the American government and the leak of the $1 million contract on Aces' head is enough to drudge up the most evil and twisted assassins the world has to offer.

These assassins should be enough to make the film interesting but their not. With stories that are ultimately cut short or left underdeveloped, the assassins become mere caricatures of bad guys - and that's just not scary . . . or exciting. The Tremors - a Neo-Nazi trio of brothers (Chris Pine, Kevin Durand, Maury Serling) carry chainsaws in their back pockets that nobody seem to notice. Bail bondsman Jack Dupree (Ben Affleck) and his two cohorts (Peter Berg, Martin Henderson) are woefully out of their league and that's about it. A master of disguise, Lazlo Soot (Tommy Flanagan) painstakingly learns to mimic the voice of his victims but then doesn't speak for the rest of the film. The list goes on and on and on.

With so many characters, it is easy to get lost in this flick. And with only a few fledgling allegiances - it would seem we are supposed to connect most closely with Reynolds' Messner - it's easy to not care about getting lost. Ultimately, Aces Director Joe Carnahan waits too long to bring things together and then proceeds to wrap things up too quickly with answers that feel disappointingly pat.

As far as performances go, Reynolds has grown up quite a bit - proving himself viable as an intense and focused lead rather than simply a bag full of jokes. In her feature film debut, Alicia Keys is sexy, smoldering and believable . . . but who can really screw things up when picking their way through carnage and toting enough ammo to knock off a small country? Still, her standoff with Reynolds is especially powerful and her overall quiet intensity adds a much needed dose of depth to a film that otherwise remains shallow.

I must say however that I was disappointed with Jeremy Piven - Somehow Ari Gold got caught up with the Vegas mob. Go figure.

Robert Frazen's editing is fantastic - keeping the visual pace as lightening fast as the dialogue. The section where events replay in Messner's mind is exquisite. Couple the superb editing with Mauro Fiore's saturated hues and decadent cinematography and you've got one visual stimulating flick.

But even the best cinematography and editing couldn't save Smokin Aces. A less intelligent, less entertaining version of Snatch with a faltering attempt at the stylish pizzazz of Ocean's Eleven and the charismatic violence of a Tarantino flick, Smokin' Aces is not so smoking.