This film was hyped up so much by the media that we expected it to be one of the best action films of the year. I was sorely disappointed. The cast is stellar, the action is cool, the acting was left to be desired and the storyline was abysmal. It was all over the place to say the least and I think it wanted to be one of those movies that tells the stories of different people who all come together in one event. If that was the plan then it did nothing but fail.

I can't really tell you much about the story as, again, it was all over the place. From what I could make out Buddy "Aces" Isreal who's a Vegas illusionist is snitching on the mob to the FBI. The mob want him dead but the FBI need him alive. From the basics there comes a lot of shooting and swearing and some other groups get involved for whatever reason.

I would advise staying away if you're expecting to see a great action movie, because that's simply not going to happen. What you will be dealt with instead is a platitude of disappointment.

This movie has it all:
Packed full of famous faces... all of whom give great performances.
Great dialogue and stories for each character.
A couple of unseen twists in the story, and an ending that makes this better than an action film.

Even knowing what is going on, the second viewing was even better. Special features are good, especially the character bios. I will watch this several more times.

This movie dives into the criminal world, somewhat like a Tarantino movie, but with more pace.

I had thought that this was a Terrentino film and was reluctant to watch it. As it got going I was surprised ad how coherent it remained even if a bit convoluted and silly.

The plot seemed like something out of the "underground" comic books of the seventies, today they are of course called graphic novels. So, here is the deal, this is not a well written engrossing story, but it is a bit of mindless fun for those not offended by, well anything, because it has about every offensive thing you could find without an NC17 rating.

It's probably my fault, but the movie went so fast and cut back in forth in time that I spent alot of time trying to catch up to the developments. Still, great fun for hep kiddies.

Some people will do anything for the love of money! Hit men and women from all over the Country try to cash in on this HIT, even if it mean hitting each other.

Seriously, I had to watch Smokin' Aces three times to get the rhythm of it and to pick up on all the critical details. There's so much going on and so much information being delivered at the beginning, that it made it difficult for me to catch it all the first time around. For better or worse, it's one of those movies that requires thorough attention and the understanding that every little piece of dialog is significant. To its credit, every second of Smokin' Aces is necessary and not one second is wasted. There is no drag to the story at all... which is also its problem if you're a casual viewer. Let your mind wander for more than a few seconds and you're wondering what you missed. Beyond that, the best parts of this movie are found in subtleties that can be appreciated only after repeated viewings, which is what makes it worth owning. Even the minor characters are interesting and memorable, and every scene offers layers of personality and character that reveal themselves only when the sometimes overwhelming (and magnificently directed) violence is set aside. My only real criticism is that the twist at the end feels rather anti-climactic and overdue. I'm not sure it could have been done any other way, but it was a noticeable distraction (although the final scene made up for most of it).

I loved alicia keys in this movie,action was very good,but i was not crazy about the ending,were her friend died.

this hddvd is what high definition is all about. it features things like the u control and picture in picture that most high def dvd's don't. TOTALLY WORTH IT

The mafia wants Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven), a top Las Vegas magician, dead. The FBI wants him alive. What follows is an all-star cast of actors all trying to get Aces.

"Smoking Aces" is just like "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", only with lots of guns and violence. Just about every character in this film is played by someone whom you have heard of or whom you should have heard of (Ben Affleck, Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Alicia Keyes, Matthew Fox and Jason Bateman all appear, to name just a few). You would think that, to attract a cast like that, the script must be pretty damn good, wouldn't you?. However, it isn't. In fact, "Smoking Aces" has one of the worst scripts that I have ever seen.

The film opens with 17 and a half minutes of exposition (that is, 17 and a half minutes of people sitting around and explaining who the different characters are and what they are doing), which put my father to sleep and just left me confused, and then follows it with another 90 minutes of incoherent rubbish. Some of the action sequences are well done and interesting to watch, but they are more or less randomly inserted in the film. In many cases, I couldn't even understand what the characters were saying and I found myself drawn to Ryan Reynolds's character, simply because he was one of the few comprehensible actors in the entire film. I could excuse much of this in a piece of direct-to-DVD rubbish, but in a film that got an international cinema release, it is unforgivable, and I wonder how Joe Carnaghan (the writer and director) managed to convince so many top actors to appear in this mess.

After watching this film, I swore that I would never watch another Joe Carnaghan film ever again. Do yourself a favour and don't watch this one to begin with.

THIS MOVIE WAS GOOD AND FUN. ALSO EACH PART OF STORY WAS MAKING NICE. IT WAS COOL WHEN THEY SHOOTING PART SCENE. THEREFORE THIS MOVIE WAS NOT BORED AT ALL. ALSO THIS MOVIE WAS NEVER MISS IN ACTION.

This movie is great, it looks good on the standard dvd but on the HD it's perfect. Awesome movie make sure to make it part of your collection!!!

I decided to purchase 'Smokin' Aces' because, not only was it cheap, but the storyline (several hitmen going after a man named Israel for spilling out mob secrets) sounded intriguing and the cover art is quite swanky. However, this movie ended up being a disappointing bore.

Although 'Smokin' Aces' is an action movie, the acting and storyline do have a comic edge to it. I did not get a single chuckle out of it, however, and there were many parts of the film that seemed completely nonsensical.

I also didn't care about the characters at all - always a sign of an abysmal, failed movie.

Overall, 'Smokin' Aces' felt like a chore to watch. Spend your two hours - and hard-earned money - elsewhere.

Well, this was an acceptable waste of two hours. The new caper flick with all the Guy Ritchie cliché freeze frames and the endless countdown of character's who's fates become intertwined. I think my favorite part was when Ben Afflect died ... but, hey, that's just me. Oh, and "a straight-to-DVD prequel has been announced" according to wikipedia, so ... there's something.

Okay, let's get this out of the way: As a tough-guy FBI agent, Ryan Reynolds is a joke.

There. I feel much better.

Other than that, I had an absolute blast watching director Joe Carnahan's gruesome shoot-'em-up, SMOKIN' ACES. This flick puts an extra shade into dark comedy; I found myself laughing one moment, then cringing at over-the-top violence and gore the next. Yet in a movie that doesn't, not for one second, take itself seriously, over-the-top is a good thing. This bizarro race of professional killers to be the first to rub out an informant--and claim a hefty paycheck--delivers action with an exclamation point. It's fast-paced and fun to watch, a rollercoaster ride without all the dizziness.

With the exception of Reynolds, the ensemble cast is hard core entertaining. Ben Affleck's role as a bail bondsman trying to get in on the action is surprisingly small; Chris Pine as the front man of three very degenerate brothers is hilarious; Alicia Keys is smokin' hot. Ray Liotta and Andy Garcia are solid; Jason Bateman in a very small (but interesting) role is hysterical. Yet Jeremy Piven, the Las Vegas entertainer turned FBI informant, steals the show. With a grand legion of personal issues, augmented by the realization he could be killed at any moment, Piven's character devolves into meltdown mode in a manner that is fascinating to watch.

SMOKIN' ACES is brutal and gory and disturbing; it's not for your aunt who does needlework on Wednesdays. But it is a film that gets up and moves; it bobs and weaves and ultimately entertains. It has a look and feel I find hypnotically appealing.
--D. Mikels, Author, Walk-On

In Sum: Smokin' Hot
Should you Buy? Yes

Smokin' Aces is the second most appropriately violent movie, next to Clockwork Orange. Written and Directed by Joe Carnahan, Smokin' Aces is the complicated story of a second-rate magician with a large bounty apparently on his head for selling out his crime lord friends to the FBI. The cast is great, Jeremy Piven, Andy Garcia and the brutally sexy Alicia Keys - who by the way has some great legs (I did not know this). It is an entertaining movie you will think in some respects was directed by Quenten Tarantino - but wasn't. It falls just short of Resservoir Dogs and Fight Club in terms of script and direction, but fits perfectly next to those movies on your shelf, if organized by Genre and then quality. Maybe you go alpha, I don't know, my system is kind of random ... like this post.

As for the HD quality - It looks like this film was made for an HD picture. The shots were great and when necessary, large in scope. Jeremy Piven's character gets put through the wringer in this movie and the close-ups of his face truly revealed how stressed this character was. Adding to the effect was the detail that HD allows. I cannot see this deatil in an SD format. Similarly, Alicia Keys' thighs looked really good in HD - rawr. Ultimately, Being a bloodbath, this movie needed the details that a high resolution picture allows. At certain times my wife had to turn her head away from the carnage. I have never seen her do that before, and I doubt an SD picture would have the same effect. Ultimately, this was one of the best non-effects based HD DVDs I think I have ever seen. That said, as I watch more and more HD DVD, I find myself looking for effects based movies. Regardless, this picture is great - thank goodness its a Universal HD DVD.

As for the audio: spot on as our friends across the pond would say. Seriously spot on. Crime dramas can be very effectively mastered in HD audio, like Smokin' Aces and Miami Vice. The audio mix added to the environment and was very well mastered.

Amazingly, this HD DVD had a very cool menu animation and employed U-Control. U-Control is Universal's use of HDi to display extra film information in a Picture-in-Picture format - a feature that is lacking on Pre-Profile 2.0 Blu-ray players. So far the implementation has been spotty. I can, however, attest that the U-Control feature in this HD DVD is awesome, providing information otherwise found by using IMDB and the `internets'. After experiencing this U-control HD DVD, I re-watched Miami Vice paying special attention to the U-Control features. It really is a new movie experience; one exclusive to HD DVD.

Enjoy.

Smokin' Aces is basically a pretty-looking low budget film. The storyline is about as unorganized and confusing as it gets, because the entire first half of the film is nothing but one nonsense barely-understandable segment after another, while the second half is a small improvement with lots of violence, gun shootings and blood to bring the viewers back from their sleeping state.

Looking back however, it's just a failed attempt at an action movie that tries *so hard* to be entertaining, but the constant shifting around from one segment to another makes it almost impossible to enjoy on any level. Maybe it has some funny segments (such as the kung fu fighter striking near a guys face, and another segment involving a guy playing with a dead guys face) but overall, these funny segments just make it harder to take the action parts seriously, and it wasn't good enough of a movie overall to take seriously in the first place. Just don't even waste your time.

Give this movie a try. The critics trashed it and it is much better than critics would have you believe. It is a violent, visceral old-school movie about a mob hit on a small-time Vegas hood. The group of killers trying to make the hit and collect the bounty is fascinating. Alicia Keys is mesmerising in a stand-out performance as a hitwoman. Jeremy Piven is terrific as the obnoxious "Aces" Israel who is the target of the hit. Great performances from Ray Liotta and Andy Garcia. The twist ending is very cool. Definitely recommended. Innovative cinematography, dark humor and on-target direction.

Oh, Tarantino, what have you wrought? Ever since Pulp Fiction (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) crime cinema has never been quite the same. PULP FICTION was so clever and dynamic and just so plain cool that, of course, it was bound to garner imitators and pretenders, all striving for that same flavor. Some of these are even pretty nifty (Snatch (Special Edition), Get Shorty (Two-Disc Special Edition), Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Locked 'N Loaded Director's Cut), etc.). And then there's a film like SMOKIN' ACES, which doesn't boast the same quality of nift.

For decades the FBI had been gradually whittling down the Mafia. This time the agency has a chance to take out a prominent capo. This, thanks to Vegas illusionist Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven, of ENTOURAGE), a key witness willing to roll over on his mob connections. But word of this can't help but get out, and, so, the vengeful mob ends up putting a million dollar contract on Aces (with the added caveat that Aces's heart be delivered as proof of the deed). Aces and his entourage are secretly holed up at a penthouse in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, a ritzy place which soon gets overrun by an assortment of contract killers, bounty hunters, and just plain scuzzbucket lowlifes. And, somewhere in this, a mysterious Swede fits into the puzzle. Trying desperately to stay on top of it all are two FBI agents (Ryan Reynolds and Ray Liotta). They end up not doing a good job.

Actually, I'm a bit torn with this one. On one hand SMOKIN' ACES is not that good of a movie. On the other hand, it's stylish and does exude a certain cool vibe. Plus, we get to see several lower-tiered movie stars riffing and taking it easy in this ensemble cast. Jeremy Piven is very good as Aces Israel, love him or hate him. I thought Aces, poor tortured soul that he is, was an overbearing jerk, but that's just proof in the pudding regarding Piven's performance, which might not be endearing but will draw a reaction from you. In a roster of ne'er-do-wells, there are only two people I rooted for: Ryan Reynold's FBI guy and Alicia Keys's sexy assassin. But, then again, I pretty much root for Reynolds in every film he's in, and SMOKIN' ACES is worth watching just for the chance to ogle Keys strolling around in hooker boots. There's also a brief but standout scene with Jason Bateman as a weird, drunk lawyer. The action sequences, once the film gets around to 'em, are wild and frenetic, with the suspense factor kicking in as, with these kinds of films, you never really know who's gonna make it out alive. So, these are the movie's good points.

I did say that SMOKIN' ACES exudes style and a cool vibe. But the thing is, sooner or later (and probably sooner), it'll hit the viewer that there's not much substance beneath the splash and glitter. Turns out, it really is all just smoke and mirrors. One wonders how much more effective SMOKIN' ACES would've been if done as a short film. As it is, it feels too drawn out. Much of the film is plodding in pace as it focuses on introducing and then tracking the preparations and movements of the various degenerates out to collect the murder sweepstakes. In the final half hour or so, all the players finally converge and clash in a series of amped-up firefights. And, yup, the ensuing bloodbaths and gunplays are worth watching. But the film is then even further sabotaged by the weak resolution. And the characters I was rooting for...well, they could've done more. Instead the end credits elicit an empty "Is that it?" sensation. I really hate that sensation.

More negatives? As in PULP FICTION there are moments here when the characters indulge in seemingly throwaway, off-the-cuff dialogue. Only here it isn't as well done, not as memorable or catchy. I could almost feel the beads of trying-too-hard sweating off the screen. There's a twist near the end of the flick which isn't as clever or as slick as the writer seems to think it is. For a "gotcha" moment, all it did was make me shrug. Another quibble has to do with Alicia Keys. I'm glad she tried her hand at acting and she's definitely got "it." She plays a contract killer here, and I wish she'd gone into action more. In particular I wish she'd taken on the crazy Tremor brothers (her pointing a gun at the head neo-Nazi doesn't count). Her character is one instance where the actuality doesn't live up to the hype. And, finally, I really, really hated that annoying kid with the boner.

A bit torn on this one and flippin' a coin. In the end, I say there's enough curious bits in SMOKIN' ACES to make it worth watching once, despite its flaws. There are some redeeming stuff here, as with the performances of Piven, Alicia Keys, Ryan Reynolds, and Jason Bateman. Also, I got a kick out of Andy Garcia's Southern boy Foghorn Leghorn accent. And for some reason I couldn't stop giggling when Ben Affleck's bail bondsman toppled over.

This is a fast paced action flick with many twists and turns. Mainly, you have the main character of Buddy Israel, a Las Vegas headliner and member of the mob, willing to give evidence against the mob to the FBI. The mob gets wind of this and wants him dead. So, a plethora of hitmen are hired to kill Buddy Israel and so it becomes a race to see who can kill him first.

Although, there are some funny/odd characters, interesting twists and turns throughout this film, and non-stop action.... I must say that this was also this film's downfall. There was too much action and too many twists and turns in this movie, that it was difficult to follow the movie at times. And although the ending of the movie had a big plot twist (which was good), there was also an unrealistic part of the ending that was disappointing as well.

This is rollicking good adult entertainment. The movie is fast paced and compelling to watch throughout. It isn't the sort of cinema that will go down in history, but it is a blast for the evening and a good one to watch with friends. Jason Bateman is hillarious and the plot has many twists and turns. You'll be kept in suspense right up to the last scene. Keep the remote pause button in reach because the plot is a bit convoluted and you may find yourself stopping the film to make sure you're tracking with the storyline.

This movie woulda been a 5 in my book, but this version was edited from the theatrical version. Specifically, the action part during the climax of the movie. The theatre showed way more footage on a particular scene, which was way more vivid, in my opinion. I wont say which one, in case you havent seen it.

I haven't been this bored since I tried to watch this movie with Harrison Ford in it (W-19 Widowmaker?) or the Master Of Disguise.

It bored me and the characters were somewhat interesting but I couldn't bare to watch the whole thing. I was waiting and waiting for the action to pick up and after an hour or so of nodding out, I shut it off and VOWED to never watch this CRAP again!!

One of the worst hours I ever endured.

Cover Art: D
Characters: B-
Dialogue: C-
Length: F-
Overall: F+

1.5 stars.

My headline basically sums it up. It's one of the worst movies I can remember seeing. Failed to capture my interest at any single point of the movie. Everything about this movie was abominable.

Literally, what the heck was going on in this film, what was the director on? The plot was almost completely incoherent, only given out in small doses of boring exposition at the "important" parts. The rest of the film was just cool looking characters blowing the shiznang out of people or cutting them up, stabbing them, shooting giant elephant killer bullets at eachother. It was totally crazy, and for that, I applaud it, and give it the five star rating. It's action scenes were intense, stylized and influential. I have never seen people get hit by a 50 calibur bullet and go flying quite like in this movie. I have never seen such slick hitmen, and if YOU have, I want to know what movie it was. It wasn't the Professional, he was slick, but that was a character drama, and I've seen it a billion times. So someone please try and give me a film where the assassins were as cool as they are in this movie. This movie had cool to spare to make up for it's incoherent and really mundane plotting. In summary, this movie was on speed and had a really bad case of ADD. Nice bright colors though. Great violence, funny, memorable killer performances. Five out of Five. It's not a waste of time.

EXCELLENT EXCELLENT EXCELLENT VERY ENTERTAINING PRODUCT FOR WHAT I PAID FOR IT... THIS IS A MAGNIFICENT DVD. ONE THING I WILL SAY THOUGH I THINK YOU SHOULD PUT MORE OF RATING WARNING ON MOVIES LIKE THIS JUST FOR THE KIDS BUT OTHER THAN THAT I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST ON LINE STORE IN THE WORLD, THANKS - MR.REED

I'm all for the auteurist theory in filmmaking. Joe Carnahan's Narc was a very successful film, full of intensity and bravado, and established him as a director of distict vision and energy.
But this is a messy, ultimately stupid, fundamentally meaningless action-popcorn-slick kill-fest, whose only positive feature is a handful of engaging performances (Joel Edgerton as Hugo Croop, Chris Pine as Darwin Tremor, Jason Bateman as 'Rip' Reed stand out) and a great looking closing credit sequence.
This film seemed like something for all involved to do on the way to making films that can be entertaining, enlightening or both.
Half way through this I knew I didn't care, and at the end I didn't care.

I love action, even cheesy action, but this movie just really blows. It takes itself way too seriously while reeling off cliche after cliche. Furthermore, the action sucks, the acting sucks, and the ending doesn't make any sense at all.

this movie was hot. for real, it had a bit of everything mixed in. i loved the action, the guns, the crazies, and the cops. the plot was good, a mafia boss putting a hit out on this rat. everybody trying to get a piece of the money. you got killers coming in from everywhere to whack this guy. everybody collides all hell breaks loose, and the action flies. there's a trio of crazies, a pair of ladies, a solo psycho, and fingerprintless nut. what's better than that. everything in this movie goes according to plan, then towards the end you get a piece of news you just do not expect. the mafia boss wants this rat, for all these other reasons. good plot, great action, and excellent actors. andy garcia, i definately admire this man, alicia keys, cool actress and songstress, ben affleck played his part. jeremy piven, love this guy he does his thing on here, you just can't help but watch. ray liotta, man does goodfellas, identity, enough said. this guy good or bad brings his skills to the table. great actor. ryan reynolds, buff, charming, and dangerous. facinating man. loved this whole movie from start to finish, and no doubt one of the best.

This film is one of those guilty pleasures. Sexy ladies, blood splatter, guns a-blazing, and action sequences galore.

But it's also much more than that. Jeremy Piven isn't really known as a lead actor. His drug-addled yet funny portrayal in Grosse Pointe Blank (beside lead actor John Cusack) cemented him as a powerfully funny if somewhat despicable character, and this is something he uses to great advantage in SMOKIN' ACES.

The story is that of Buddy "Aces" Israel (Piven), a Vegas magician turned mobster who's out to get as much recognition and cash as he can and be damned the consequences. But when a hit is put out on him -- and he learns of it -- Buddy turns to the Feds for a deal; he plans to tell all of what he knows regarding mob business in Nevada before someone rips his heart out (both figuratively and literally).

Enter agents Messner (Ryan Reynolds) and Carruthers (Ray Liotta, Wild Hogs), two G-men assigned to protect Buddy and take him out of his Lake Tahoe safe-haven and into protective custody.

In the meantime, the contract on Buddy's life has gotten great notice by those in the rub-out business (the price tag on Buddy's head is $1 million). A trio of demented and toothless brothers with a penchant for bloody ends, a master of disguise, two sexy ladies with some powerful guns, and even an unfortunate bounty hunter (played by Ben Affleck, Hollywoodland) get involved to no good ends.

Eventually the deal with Buddy falls through, and the FBI renigs on its offer of protection, leaving Buddy wide-open to his newfound enemies. Unbeknownst to our two G-men, they come into Buddy's hotel with some hitmen (and women) in front and behind them. Blood is sure to fly, and it does with little remorse and plenty of abandon.

The big question is why did the FBI pull out its offer of protection. Old FBI plans and super-duper secret undercover cases come boiling back and threaten to spill over onto everyone's lap, especially onto Messner's who has to deal with the death of someone close to him and the possibility of corruption from within the very department he's dedicated his life to.

It is Jeremy Piven's who carries a large part of Smokin' Aces. His sexually depraved and drug sniffing personae was spot-on and made watchers both love and loathe him in the same breath. We despise him, but love how he handles the terribleness of his new situation.

This is definitely a great film to watch when you're in the mood for the spray of crimson and shoot `em up action.

I'm a big fan of gangster genre--in many ways, it seems to be one of the last vestiges of quirky character investigation left in the world of movies and media. The popularity and intrigue generated by The Sopranos, for example, shows you how much gangsters capture people's interests. And why? Maybe because they're such extraordinary personalities, characters that are dealing with the essential questions of survival and betrayal and life and death.

But nix that idea for this movie--this movie is a wannabe in gangster genre, but only seems to know the images but nothing of the substance. Wanting to soak up the cult elitism of Tarantino added to the flair of something like Snatch, this movie tries to set up a host of nasty but somehow interesting characters, as well as a little secret to try to drive the film by.

The set-up--simple. Buddy Israel, a Vegas magician turned mob boss, is turning informant, and so a million-dollar bounty has been put on his head, which catches the interest of a hitman who is also a master of disguise, as well as a pair of female gangstas, a trio of Nazi brothers, and a mysterious figure known as only The Swede (which is apprently a nickname that was never used in the hole history of the mob). But there is a stir in the FBI head office, and though three agents (including Ray Liotta) have already headed off to Israel's penthouse to protect the man.

Of course, there are other characters and turns, but they all feel a little flat during the movie, for there is little sense of character investigation and more a barrage of eccentricities with little sense of the logic behind them, and the pay-off towards the end is nothing of the sort, leading to a finale that is little more than improbable to any sense of logic. Rather than deal with the emotions of love, hatred and devotion, this movie merely mentions them to try to spice up its characters, but they are never really issues in the plot. Israel is clearly bothered by his impending move, but the reason for it is totally obfuscated until maybe the end, but even then it's not so clear. There might be a hint of romance between the two female killers, but again this is there just to make them a little more quirky rather than truly interesting characters.

Overall, a disappointment. Flash and fire, but little interest.

I really wanted this to be good. You look at the list of characters that star in this and you figure it has got to be good. I was hoping for a semi serious picture with a great story like Ocean's Eleven(the remake). Instead this was more of a Hong Kong over the top action film with buckets of bloody killings. I don't mind pictures like that, but the box said drama comedy. I'm not sure where the comedy was in the movie. The acting is fine, and there certainly was some offbeat characters. Unfortunately everything has a ton of promise, but very little hits the mark. This was decent to watch and entertaining, but I wasn't blown away like I would have hoped. Certainly worth renting, and probably a buy for a lot of people. I would watch it first rather than making a blind buy.

This movie is about body bags, lots of em. If you like your movies full of bad guys and gals spouting gangsta rhetoric and cursing one another this may be your brew. Only one problem, it really didn't offer much that everyone hasn't seen in a half dozen other movies. Fans of movies like "Pulp Fiction", "Alpha Dog", "Reservoir Dogs", "Snatch", "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels", "Desperado", "Oceans Eleven", and a half dozen others have already seen this movie. This niche is getting hard to fill with something new and different. So although there is good acting, effects, and lots of action, you won't be surprised about where it starts or it takes you.

The shame about this movie is that it could have been really terrific but like so many other movies of recent years, it just doesn't know how or when to end. Carnahan does a good job of directing the violence and mayhem, his camera really captures every bullet hit and knife thrust, and he juggles a large cast really well while keeping the story moving along at a brisk pace. It was great fun seeing all the good and bad guys put through their paces in the intricate storyline as they converge on the hotel in Tahoe where Jeremy Piven's character Buddy awaits in a clueless coked-up haze.

***Major Spoilers Ahead***

The final act starts well in a hail of bullets as all the opposing parties square off, but at the 90 minute mark the film goes completely off track. Rather than contain the finale to a bloody denouement at the hotel, for some reason the script has numerous characters scatter after the initial shootouts/stabbings/chainsawings etc. I was particularly galled that two of the most vicious killers are not killed, one walks away scot free! Another appears to be ready to make his escape from a stretcher where his blade has been hidden up his sleeve. And Alicia Key's hit woman character gets carried off by another minor character, wounded but alive. Where was my cathartic release here? Where was the payback?!! The writers don't seem to care, as these dangling plot threads are ignored in favor of introducing an asinine twist ending that makes little sense.

In his commentary on the DVD, even Carnahan mentions that people thought the movie should have ended at the hotel. He should have listened to them. If they weren't going to tell us what happened to the killers, they should have just stopped it there and not ruined it with a talky, convoluted monologue from Andy Garcia, playing the FBI head. And the final moment with Ryan Reynold's pulling the plug on Buddy and Sparazza at the hospital is ludicrous and out of character for him. I was left simply shaking my head. This film could have and should have been better, were it not for the final 15 minutes. Pity.

For anyone who has watched reality television in the last couple years and you will see just what some people would do to get their hands on a million dollars. Well imagine if someone put a million dollars on your head, or more specifically your heart. Well Vegas entertainer turned mobster turned snitch Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven) learned in the action packed Smokin' Aces. Well at least he would have known how that felt if he wasn't self-quarantined in a penthouse in Tahoe with more than enough women, drugs, and bodyguards which includes Common.

Starting out just as clueless as Israel are the Feds (Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta) that are assigned to bring in the mobster in so he can testify against his former cohorts. It isn't until they get to the hotel that the million dollar mark on Israel has brought out a wide array of hired assassins that have descended on the town hoping to collect the heart of the rat before he is able to tell is story. And what an array of hoodlums they are including a female duo (Alicia Keys, Taraji P. Henson) who come complete with the biggest gun despite being the smallest physically. Then there is a master of disguise that can transform himself into almost anyone and how he does it extremely creepy. Even creepier is the torture expert played by Nestor Carbonell who has a disturbing run-in with Lost co-star Matthew Fox in a wig as bad as the one from his mullet flashbacks.

But the grizzliest of the mercenaries are the Tremor Brothers, born of the same mother but all have different dads and even though there are numerous great elevator scenes throughout the movie, their exit out of it ranks the highest as they sport some unconventional weapons for assassins. The neo-Nazi brother also have a run in with a trio of bail bondsman (Ben Affleck, Peter Berg, Martin Henderson) who are hired by a lawyer (Jason Batman) who like to wear things that most men don't to retrieve the mob boss from skipping bail.

The action comes quick and frequently with just a few a few soft spots like when the grandmother and her little too excited grandson show up. And you couldn't ask for much better cast than this, you know it is great when Piven is the weak link (he goes overboard a couple times). The big surprise is Keys who more than pulls off the female assassin role (although I'd still rather her stick to music) and Affleck who is much more palatable as a bit player than the leading man role he undeservingly gotten lately. And for a few laughs, check out the bloppers on the DVD to see just how bad of a pool player Affleck is.

Here is a movie that I thought looked really good from the moment I saw the first trailer. It featured an all-star cast ranging from younger stars Ryan Reynolds, Ben Affleck, and Jeremy Piven to veterans Ray Liotta, Andy Garcia, and Alex Rocco, which together should create plenty of interesting scenes, plus some really impressive action set pieces, and what appeared to be a really engaging story this should make for a really good movie. Throw in a critically acclaimed director, Joe Carnahan ("Narc") and "Smokin' Aces" becomes what should definitely be a movie to see, but in the end could this ensemble movie meet the high expectations that I had set for it?

"Smokin' Aces" begins with a mob hit being placed on the head of Las Vegas illusionist/mob entertainer/recently turned FBI rat, Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven). Responding to this extremely high-profile hit is a melting pot of deadly talent that includes a team of bail bondsmen (led by Ben Affleck), an attractive femme fatale (Alicia Keys), a torturous sadist, and a trio of savage brothers who live to kill. As these various hit men (and women) converge on Las Vegas, unbeknownst to them is them is the fact that the FBI is trying to seal their deal with Buddy who is still waffling on whether or not to completely become an informant. To fully convince him, and to try to save his life are two agents (Ryan Reynolds and Ray Liotta) who have been ordered by their boss (Andy Garcia) to do whatever it takes to ensure that Buddy doesn't fall into harms way before making the deal.

So, with all my expectations regarding this movie, could "Smokin' Aces" live up to what I hoped for? Well, sadly it couldn't. Now, you might be thinking that I set my standards for this movie too high and so I was destined to be disappointed, maybe so. But I've had some time to think about this movie since watching it, and I've come to the conclusion that even if I hadn't been so excited to see it, I still would have been disappointed in it. The movie just flat out does not deliver the goods, plain and simple.

The story is intriguing enough, and though it was fairly simple, I thought it worked to this film's advantage due to the amount of characters that were receiving so much screen time. However, the mix of humor and drama didn't feel smooth, I personally would have preferred less humor, and some of it may not have been so intentional, but to me the humor went a little too far into stupidity at times to not be noticed. Thus, taking away from the seriousness of the overall story. The worst offenders regarding the stupid humor were the trio of brothers, these guys were supposed to be scary, but instead they came off as being imbeciles and at times almost incestual which was a pointless, and gross character trait. Adding to the problems that took away from the story was the fact that by 3/4 of the way through the movie I began to really not care what happened to any of the characters, most were became highly unlikable (not that there were too many of them to root for anyways), and some of the plot points began to not make as much sense and became pointless or cliché, making the story seem excessive for such a simple premise, so when all was said and done the movie basically crumbled under its own weight.

What did work fairly well for this movie, and these are the only parts that did, were the acting and the gunplay. Pretty much the entire cast of talented actors deliver very strong, sometimes intense performances that would normally make for a great movie; however, the story didn't serve them as well as they served it. The action sequences were all very impressive to watch, sometimes a little too crowded, and therefore confusing as to who was shooting whom, but nonetheless they were fun. But the majority of the action doesn't occur until the final act of the movie, and by then I was just wanting to see how it all ended, and wasn't really caring too much for the characters. But, it was also during this final conflict that the movie began to crumble, because the chaos of the action was too jumbled and the characters became a little too clichéd. So even when the movie was doing what it did best, it was still failing to me. All of this served as a definite sign that this movie could not live up to anything more than what it truly was, a Direct-to-DVD movie filled with A-list Hollywood talent that allowed it to hit theaters rather than be doomed to the bargain bin.

"Smokin' Aces" is rated R for violence, language, drug use, and sexuality/nudity.