It’s that time of year again — no not awards season — B movie bonanza season. It’s that special time of year when the studios dish out the leftovers – – – time for the movies that could not stand up to box office bullies and couldn’t hope to win over the hearts of the critics. Before you feel too much pity for these cold dishes, remember that you are the person for whom they are being warmed-up.
It is no coincidence that “Smokin’ Aces” was released now. “Smokin’ Aces,” the story of a Vegas performer, Buddy Israel (Jeremy Piven), turned FBI snitch with a one million dollar bounty on his head. Israel is worth so much that it brings out every hit man/woman team in Las Vegas. What ensues is a rat race to kill Israel involving an ensemble of undeveloped, odd characters; all of whom are given mere minutes of screen time.
“Aces” name-drops a laundry list with cast members including Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, Ray Liotta, Jeremy Piven, Ryan Reynolds, and the list goes on. This is indicative of the whole film. “Aces” becomes like that secret admirer you just can’t shake; it keeps giving and giving to the point where all you can do to make it stop is join the witness protection program. The film starts out with a fairly simple plot of who is going to kill Israel first, but as it progresses the plot takes so many pointless twists and turns that it loses the audience and Israel is still kicking.
On a more positive note, within the labyrinth of the plot lie some standout performances. Jeremy Piven, who is best known for the hit show “Entourage,” does an incredible job giving depth to a seemingly superficial character like Buddy Israel. Other amazing performances come from singer Alicia Keyes as Georgia Sykes, a hot hit woman with heart. Where there are good performances, there are also bad ones. Ben Affleck (Jack Dupree) stumbles his way through his scenes with apathy and a bad accent.
Instead of just being a solid action hit man movie, “Aces” tries to be a little of everything from a comedy to a dramatic character study. It is this attempt to be everything that makes “Aces” into nothing but a sad wannabe Tarantino film.
“Smokin’ Aces” is following the pattern of many recent Hollywood films (i.e. “Crash”) giving the audience five movies for the price of one. With the introduction of so many characters in a short span of time, going to the movies has become like speed dating where you only have 1 minute to meet a character before you are moved on to yet another character you will barely understand by the end of the movie. Instead of giving the audience five movies, just give them one. “Smokin’ Aces” makes one truly appreciate the saying “less is more.”
2 out of 5 Stag Heads.
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