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Smokin Aces (2007) All smoke and no fire?
by Heidi Goodlife, published on Sunday, January 7 2007
Only four years ago, Joe Carnahan (US writer-director) brought us the thoughtful and engaging drama Narc (2001). So all things considered, expectations were high for his next roll of the dice: Smokin' Aces.
The film is set in the gambling resort of Lake Tahoe, Nevada, filmed predominantly at the MontBleu Resort Casino. The plot begins with Buddy Aces' Israel (Jeremy Piven), a loathsome Vegas magician, whose presumptuous antics find him believing he is level-pegging with his mob boss Primo Sparazza (Joseph Ruskin). Predictably, it's not long until his hugely inflated ego gives him delusions of grandeur for talking over operations. Sadly for Buddy, Primo isn't ready to hang up his hat.
A $1 million bounty on buddy's head forces him to turn to FBI for protection. Fleeing to Tahoe, Aces' world starts to come crumbling down. He's wanted in custody by the feds, he has hookers coming out of his ears; and his brain - wired by drugs, is also a target for the copious amount of hitmen (and women) seeking his blood.
After a few initial tumbles, all parties converge on the 42nd floor of a Lake Tahoe hotel, where Aces gets busted with half-a-dozen hookers in the Presidential suite. Widespread slaughter ensues, with few gory stones left unturned.
Now, we've seen that this type of comic-book stylized production can work for something slick like Tarantino's Kill Bill, but arguably his success was built on pure originality and sharp signature wit. Frankly, this film is positively lame in comparison and also fairly unpleasant.
It's a combination of boring dialogue and a reckless body count, with a style that is simply too tired. The cast is semi-impressive, but this only goes to stoke the fire of disappointment. The most disturbing piece of casting is Ben Affleck who plays Jack Dupree, a bail bondsman, which is unconvincing at best, but the addition of his leather cap and moustache makes him look disturbingly like a reject from the Village People.
This is the type of film where you can sense the DVD release planned rescue; with its fairly heft cast (including a more than ample helping of cleavage) and relentless body count, this could be one to rake it back from financial embarrassment through home viewing figures, preferably late at night and with an accompanying six pack.
That said, I'd have to admit that there's probably enough bullets, blood, breasts, and brutality to keep the majority of the staff here at Casino.com interested.
[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
G'night
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