“Smokin’ Aces”
Director Joe Carnahan
Universal Pictures
It’s been four long years since writer/director Joe Carnahan made a name for himself with the gritty crime thriller “Narc.” And unfortunately, those looking for a hint of that tightly scripted drama will be sorely disappointed by his latest effort, “Smokin’ Aces.”
That isn’t to say that “Smokin’ Aces” is an utter disaster. On the contrary, it’s an entirely different breed of film that caters to a specific audience. The movie, like its characters, is rough, wacky, hilarious and violent ““ just as it was intended to be.
And I do mean violent. If the idea of a man falling on a chain saw doesn’t sit well, this isn’t the movie for you.
In the film, a dying mob kingpin has put a huge bounty on the head ““ or, technically, heart ““ of Las Vegas magician-turned-FBI informant Buddy “Aces” Israel, played by Jeremy Piven (“Entourage”).
On the case are FBI agents Messner (Ryan Reynolds, “Van Wilder”) and Carruthers (Ray Liotta, “Identity”). They’re racing the clock to get to Israel in his penthouse suite before a bevy of wacky hit men beat them to the punch.
Among the would-be assassins are a bail bondsman (Ben Affleck) and his buddies, singer Alicia Keys as a female associate, a trio of Neo-Nazi brothers, a master of disguise, and a ruthless torture expert.
Carnahan takes all these hastily sketched-out caricatures, mixes them up and sets them loose on a Tahoe hotel, allowing them to wreak havoc for our amusement.
Oddly enough, the film abruptly changes in tone toward the end. Each (surviving) character is afforded his or her own dramatic moment, much to the detriment of the film’s previously frenetic pace.
Also figuring prominently into the denouement is a somewhat clever and rather unexpected twist that will probably catch audiences by surprise. However, the attempt at adding emotional weight to an otherwise lighthearted, albeit dark, film is jarring and sloppily executed.
“Smokin’ Aces” is a black comedy that is incredibly violent and thin on plot. It’s a premise that’s milked for its action potential and peppered with sharp dialogue and entertaining, if not deep, performances. A wise theatergoer shouldn’t walk into the theater expecting more than that.