Smokin' Aces

There's been a lot of buzz surrounding Smokin' Aces: the slick and polished madcap action comedy has garnered a lot of hype through word of mouth. So it does it deserve the praise it's getting? Yes and no. Yes in that it tries hard to be what it is - a slick and polished madcap action comedy - and no when it tries to be more than it actually is. Former sleazy Vegas magician Buddy 'Aces' Israel (Piven) has decided to turn state's and shop his mob buddies to the cops. As he waits in his hotel room for safe transportation from the Feds (Garcia, Liotta and Reynolds), bounty hunters (Affleck, Peter Berg and Martin Henderson), hitwomen (Alicia Keys, Taraji P. Henson) and various thugs clamber over each other to get to him first and pocket the €1 million bounty. Smokin' Aces is fun, a multi-character story that seamlessly slips from one subplot to the other, taking pride in confusing the viewer as to who is double-crossing who. Writer/director Carnahan uses the element of surprise to keep us guessing as to what happens next. Killing off one of the 'name actors' in the first half hour was a brave move and showed us that anything can happen and no one is safe. Employing a Guy Ritchie/Danny Boyle style, Carnahan is adept at keeping the pace of a movie going and doesn't mind showing you excess of blood and gore. Problems arise in the characterisation, though: there's no one to root for as everyone's unlikeable, and when the cast start killing each other in droves, we don't feel anything. This wouldn't be a problem if Carnahan stuck with what he started out with - an action comedy - but his attempts to add some pathos come off rather clunky. However, if you fancy turning your brain off and being blown away by some idiotic violence with a smart, knowing story, Smokin' Aces just might be the one for you.