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Tuesday, May 13th
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Movie Forums :: Reviews :: Smokin' Aces |
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Posted on 1/31/07
Smokin' Aces
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Smokin' Aces (Joe Carnahan)
"Smokin' Aces Is A Blender Baby"
Buddy "Aces" Israel is being targeted after snitching on the mob. The amount on his head is a staggering one million dollars. Now every hit-man and woman want a shot at it.
If I were to ever make a film, Smokin' Aces is the type of film I would want to make. Although in my mind, my film is also 100 times better and wins a crazy amount of Oscars. Aces is a film that is not really original, but it does what it sets out to do and that is entertain. Sure it's not the perfect film, but it never tries to be. It suffers from a poor ending, too many characters and it becomes too Hollywood for it's own good. With everything that's wrong with it, it's also good. Carnahan delivers the film with a unique style and the film will definitely entertain. The film is not original, it takes bits a pieces from many other films: Pulp Fiction, Snatch, Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, any Tony Scott film and last years Lucky Number Slevin. Throw those films into a blender and you get Smokin' Aces. While Aces never reaches the greatness of those films it is good and deserves a chance. Listen to me and not those other uptight critics.
Aces does have too many characters, the film takes a good twenty minutes to introduce everyone, but once you see them and are given that brief back story you don't need anything else. Are you suppose to connect with these characters? Aside from Reynolds and possibly Piven himself, the answer is no. You don't try to get to know these characters, you know they are contract killers and that's all you need to know. Instead you root for one of them, whoever you think is the "coolest" or most "badass". The characters are indeed diverse and over the top, you have: Ben Affleck as a bail bondsman, his two friends who are ex-cops, Bateman as a sleazy lawyer, two femme fatals, three insane Nazi like guys known as The Tremors, a torturer who doesn't torture anyone in the film, a man who changes identity and masks, Buddy Piven Israel and his crew, Reynolds and Liotta as the two FBI agents and their superior Garcia. Seems like a lot of people and it is, but you won't get confused as to who's who at any point.
If I were to cut out some characters, the film could do without the kid and his granny, along with Israel's manager/lawyer. Instead give that screen time to more action. There I said it, the film could use a little bit more action. Don't get me wrong, the film does showcase enough violence to please the usual film goer, but I couldn't help but want a little bit more by the time the film was over. Speaking of which, when the film ended, it seemed like they didn't know what they wanted to do. So they threw in that trying to trick you bit that fails so many times when not done right. Half way through the film you know what the twist is and when they reveal the real reason behind the hit, it kind of ruins the rest of the film. Carnahan and his crew could have ended the film with a wrap up for each character, it would have better suited the film, but we are left with no explanation of what happens to whom.
Now onto the whole "Too Hollywood" bit. You know in films when something happens to a character and you think they are dead? Only to discover they live at the end? Well that kind of happens here. Granted it's not as shocking as the other films, but it does become annoying. In one particular scene, two character shoot the living hell out of one another in an elevator, yet they don't die at the time, instead they live for another twenty minutes. Another character gets shot in the face, yet he lives. Aces also suffers from the "Hollywood Minute". This usually affects films that deal with bombs that are about to explode in 5 seconds, but it last for 2 minutes. Well it kind of happens here with certain characters. For example, one character is in the room with Aces and it's his mission to take his heart, which is what every hit-man must do. Well, he gets in their and kills the one body guard, then the film cuts to every other character. Twenty minutes go by and the same guy in that room is just putting his gun away after killing him.
Everybody in the film does a good job with their characters and it was nice to spot those familiar faces in the cast, such as Matthew Fox from Lost fame and the one hit-man who people will recognize from Suddenly Susan. While the comedy doesn't really last throughout the entire film, it's Bateman who steals the comedy with his sleazy lawyer role. He delivers every line with comedy gold.
Carnahan, who's previous film was Narc, has a unique visual style and it's present here as it was with Narc. Now Aces isn't as good as Narc, but that's only because these films are so diverse. Aces isn't set in any reality, this is evident throughout the entire film. None of this would ever happen in real life, so you know to just sit back and relax and enjoy the mayhem that appears. Piven plays his usual fast talking dirt bag character, only this time he has a few card tricks to flash the audience. Reynolds and Liotta work well together and Reynolds is the real standout in the entire cast. I would recommend this film for anyone who wants a good entertaining flick in which they can just sit back and enjoy the action.
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