Smokin' Aces (2006)

2009-01-30
12:27:45 am

I really, REALLY wanted to like Smokin' Aces when it came out in 2006. A bunch of us from Wizard were so psyched that we went to see it in the theater and man was I disappointed. I wanted so much for it to be this awesome battle of crazy hired killers killing each other at breakneck speeds. But, that's not exactly what we got.

So, like I said I was disappointed. But sometimes I don't like something because it doesn't match up to my expectations, not necessarily because it's a bad piece of work. For instance I hated Superman Returns when I first watched it. That sure as heck isn't the Superman I've been reading about since I was a kid (the same reason I don't like the original Superman movies either, but that's a discussion for another time). But, upon further viewings I like the movie more. I'm not in love with it (Superman has a KID!) and it's not even close to my top 20 (maybe even 50) comic based movies. I don't really agree with the director or writers choices, but it's a well put together movie.

I can't say that's the same case with Aces, though. The movie suffers from all kinds of pacing issues and an overwhelming amount of information, characters and business. Plus, you've got the bid end twist (which is incredibly telegraphed, too much I'd say) and then the VERY end is just ridiculous (why the heck would they let him in the room?). The alternate "Cowboy Ending" makes a LOT more sense, though it wouldn't have made up for the whole thing. I feel like there's a really good story in there somewhere, but frankly, it's buried under a mountain of other unnecessary bits of business. The last 20-30 minutes have so many head-slapping and scratching moments that it really kills the movie.

There are some fun moments and bits that have more to do with casting and coincidence than the story. The redneck brothers have a pretty cool shoot-out with blades, guns, a rocket launcher (?) and a chainsaw that's too short, but still great. Basically, it's what you expect from the whole movie, but it only lasts a few minutes and resolves itself oddly. Aside from that and one other shoot-out, though, the movie lacks action. It doesn't lack an awesome cast though. Here's a brief list: Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Jeremy Piven, Ben Affleck, Peter Berg, Common, Andy Garcia, Nestor Carbonell, Jason "Everything's Better with Bateman" Bateman and even a small roll for Matthew Fox.

Oh, and those redneck brothers I mentioned? They're made up of Keamy from Lost, Kirk from the new Trek movie and another guy. Yup that makes THREE Lost cast members in the flick and I still didn't like it. What are the odds?!

All this being said, I would definitely check out the rumored sequel called Smokin' Aces: Blowback, though I probably won't shell out $10 again to see it in the theater. For my money, I'd rather check out a Shoot Em Up sequel, because that movie was exactly what I wanted it to be.