The Burkian Review
Smokin’ Aces
2/8/2007

Ian: First of all, I would like to say that this movie is not the American “Snatch." Any and all comparisons to Guy Ritchie's films are unwarranted. The same should be said to save Quentin Tarantino from association from this film.

Burke: All good points. For me it was like watching a fat kid running. He gets off to a pretty good start before he collapses under all that weight.

Ian: ...with someone dangling a Swiss roll right in front of him all the while. The treat, however, stays just out of reach.

Burke: I’m not even sure what a Swiss roll is, but I was pretty pumped watching all the piecesget set for some badass action sequences. Unfortunately, the movie just had too many characters and not enough things to do with them. Though it was one of the best roles I've seen Ben Affleck in since "Good Will Hunting"…

Ian: Let's just say that I found it a satisfying bit for him. But I agree that the whole of the cast seemed to trip over itself. With a plot completely summarized by the 30-second trailer, the fat of the film should be in character development. The writer/director Joe Carnahan—whose only credentials include a handful of unrecognizable action movies since the late 90s—draws up a few lunatics, degenerates and killers of genuine worth.

Burke: Actually one of the actors I enjoyed the most was Common, as one of Jeremy Piven's accomplices. But I do feel like a lot of legitimate actors get shortchanged here. Granted that's more of a problem with the writing than anything else. Jeremy Piven deserves a lot of credit as Buddy 'Aces' Israel; as the chaotic center of the storm, his portrayal of a coked-out, hedonistic snitch was pretty entertaining, as far as coked-out hedonistic snitches go.

Ian: Who isn't a fan? The Tremor Brothers are also a consistently entertaining, if intentionally over-the-top, trio. But the rest of the cast, up to and unfortunately including the luscious Alicia Keys, don't ever seem to reach the peak of their caricatured design that, say, a 400-page novel might get across.

Burke: It’s also unfortunate that we had the bearded Ryan Reynolds in this movie as opposed to the shaved one. Bearded Ryan Reynolds should have been a dead give-away that this movie was going to take itself more seriously than it should have. For the first two thirds it was a fun and lighthearted romp with bullets, which excuses the script. Ah, the script… where to begin?

Ian: It seemed to suffer from a case of bad editing. Not patchy cinematography, just a deliberate series of scenes that consecutively took each character away from the stereotyped roles we had prejudged them for. If this seems harsh, consider that this movie was not the type to "transcend" genres; it had clear predecessors, and should've been one part “Ocean's Eleven”, one part “Snatch”, one part “Pulp Fiction”, and one part “Generic Unbearded Ryan Reynolds One-liner Conduit”.

Burke: That's a pretty beastly combination, I'm not sure any movie could live up to those expectations other than "Men in Black II". Or maybe "National Security" starring Martin Lawrence and Steve Zahn.

Ian: Good lord. I don’t remember signing up to play “Six Degrees of Saving Silverman”. Anyway, all I meant is that Smokin' Aces had a fairly expansive and successful lineage to draw on. The movie's failure to be anything better than an average action film is its inability to draw on that same spirit of multiple stories intertwining in an environment of pure chaos. ...Maaaa-tiiiiiinn!

Burke: Man… Martin Lawrence references will never go out of style. Though this movie was fun, I could have done without the ridiculous plot twist at the end. The whole flashback thing was lame and it definitely didn't need to be the defining moment of the movie. I'd make fun of Carnahan as a director, but he hasn't really done anything before this except for the movie "Narc". At least we don't have to worry about any unnecessary sequels like "Big Momma's House 2".

Ian: Did you see "Narc"? You're probably thinking of the TV show. Or maybe you're thinking of "Black Knight." In the end, I'd give this movie somewhere between a B- and a “Blue Streak”.

Burke: On the Martin Lawrence Scale of Motion Pictures, I give it a little below “Bad Boys II”.

Ian: Which is no mean feat, considering the piece of cinematic magic that is “Bad Boys II”. In the end it was fun, but not completely satisfying.

Burke: That’s what she said.