The action film "Smokin' Aces," written and directed by Joe Carnahan, appears to have everything going for it. There's a great cast, an incredible trailer and a juicy story line about the mafia putting a hit on a snitch. Unfortunately, the actual movie turns out to be one big, oversaturated joke.
A top-notch cast including Jeremy Piven, Ryan Reynolds and Ben Affleck cannot save the film. Unfortunately, the plot is so weak and the characters are spread so thin that none of them has any room to shine. The movie is incredibly predictable, and the so-called "twist" at the end is laughable; it's painfully obvious from the first 15 minutes of the film.
Surprisingly, there is little to no comic relief in the film, despite the presence of Reynolds ("Just Friends") and Piven ("Entourage"). Where the story lacks in comedy, it revels in blood and graphic violence, but regrettably not quite enough. Only movies that are truly action-packed can get away with such bad acting and storylines. "Smokin' Aces" made the mistake of taking itself too seriously.
Although the movie promises to be a shoot 'em up, non-stop action flick, it's anything but. Carnahan continuously attempts to make segments seem more dramatic then they actually are, an effect which fails miserably because the audience cannot possibly establish connections with the over the top, cartoonish characters.
The story line concerns Buddy Israel (Piven), a Vegas Performer who formed ties with the mob. After their relationship went sour, he became an informant for the FBI, and is now being hunted by several different contract killers, each hoping to get a piece of the one million dollar hit. The only catch is that the hit man must take Israel's still-beating heart as a trophy.
Among the hit men is the lesbian, tough girl duo of Georgia Sykes and Sharice Watters (Alicia Keys and Taraji P. Henson), and a ruthless, neo-Nazi trio that kills everyone and everything in site. While the lesbian couple is thoroughly unconvincing and far-fetched, the neo-Nazis offer one of the few bright spots of the film. They provide both dark comedy and excessive violence; a guilty pleasure for the audience that the film had originally targeted.
The film gives each assassin an explanation of who they are and how they do what they do. This part of the film includes some of the most graphic scenes. Don't believe the introductory hype though; it's just the filmmakers offering promises they don't intend to keep. The film eventually slows down, allowing mediocrity to flourish in its pretzel twist plot.
Buddy Israel is on coke throughout the entire film, showing a side of Jeremy Piven that most probably have not seen, and honestly, probably won't want to see again. He makes a much better Ari than Buddy "Aces" Israel.
As for Alicia Keys, both her film debut and character Georgia Sykes are completely ridiculous and unbelievable. Keys is an incredible singer and musician, and she should stick to that. The only actor in the movie that is actually worse than Keys is fellow musician Common, who does a simply terrible job of playing Israel's bodyguard. Carnahan's attempt to bring a hip-hop vibe to the film goes down in flames, along with Common's DOA acting career.
The best part of the film is the end, because it's over. When going to see this film, which isn't worth a gum stained penny, be sure to bring someone who cannot handle blood, gore and awful plots, because seeing that person's reaction to the film will probably be the most entertaining part.
