I never wanted to believe that good actors can make really bad movies. I also never wanted to believe that trailers can really be completely misleading.
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Smokin Aces is one of the most disappointing films that I have ever seen.This latest installment from Joe Carnahan is meant to be a action/comedy/mystery/drama /crime movie/love story. As you can see by that run down of descriptions this man was obviously trying to make several different films all at the same time. Several bad films.
Though there was a laundry list of talented actors including Jeremy Piven, Andy Garcia, Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liota, the film itself was the problem. The script included enough characters, sub-plots, and back ground stories to scare Susan Lucci.
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Though the movie was a stylish vision of a multiple wolves all chasing the same pig. It lacked any real subtext, was
poorly executed in its timing, and generally just dragged on with no real
feeling of conclussion.
In this writer’s opinion Carnahan (who got his start working in television) should’ve stayed there. He should also stay away from Guy Ritchie movies also. Let me tell you why. The creation of multiple hardcore sounding, yet loveable, bad guys, the constant jumping of scenes from one sub-story to the next, and the inventive use of camera angles, is the trade mark of another director, Guy Ritchie
This is the same Guy Ritchie, who brought the world such bitingly funny and painfully stylish films as Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels as well as Snatch. Thats what this movie was trying to be, Snatch, though a bad, American rip off of Snatch is what it actually is.
The entire first half of the movie creates a tension that you, as the viewer, feel is going to be released in a balls to the wall showdown. I mean we are talking one hell of a gun battle, the kind of thing you think about next time you are in a casino.
At some time, everyone has had that moment when you are standing there listening to some dumbass talk about his job and you are thinking to yourself " I wish I could just whip out a gun and start shooting people like in that scene from Smokin Aces."
You don’t stand there in that type of instance and say "I wish Ryan Reynolds would show up and pull the plug on this guy "
Up until about minute 50, the film moves at a fast pace, giving back stories on every character, and preparing you for that climax that never comes. It’s like rooting for the underdog and then seeing him quit because he is tired. It makes you feel pissed off.
The few redeeming qualities of this film don’t justify the 8 bucks I paid to see it. Alicia Keyes thighs by far make up for her lack of acting but they aren’t showcased nearly enough.
The Tremor brothers played by Chris Pine, Kevin Durand, and Maury Sterling had the potential to be the kind of bad guys that everyone dreams of being. However they were ultimately short changed, as was I. For petessake they barely made it out of the elevator before they were gunned down by rent-a-cops. What the hell man? RENT-A-COPS ?!?
You don’t create a badass trio of fucked up, nazi, redneck murderers and then have them gunned down by Rent-A-Cops ! That doesn’t make sense. That would be something that a bad television writer would put in a movie, a movie that is a pitiful attempt to rehash Snatch without anyone noticing. It’s bullshit.
I want my money back and I want this movie to be burned. Call me spiteful but there is far too much film garbage in this world and burning trash is a quick way to get rid of it.
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Written by KidLee - Visit Website
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thank you author for allowing me to realize my disappointment, BEFORE i spent my 8 hard earned american dollars.
The reviewer here paints a picture of one horribly messed up movie that stumbles as it comes out of the gate and needs to be euthanised like that famous racing horse that won the kentucky derby! Ahh well, not all movies are as great as we want them to be but I agree with comment number one, thanks for the warning, I guess I should send you my eight bucks for letting me know NOT to waste my time. :0
SKELETOR WAS HERE!
I thought it was one of those movies where you just go and have fun without leaning on technicalities. Yes the timing was off, yes they seem to try to cram a lot of info into the beginning and then also at the end before turning into a serious bummer of a fade out. HOWEVER, all through-out there always seemed to be something going on and maybe it was just pure eye-candy and such but it entertained me and my date both.
As for the Tremors they were shown to be a reckless lot of unprofessional hitmen and their take down was not surprising in the least bit…heck their earlier hit showed one of them accidentally shot the other and had a gun blow up in his face and ect. They were just pure chaos throwing themselves around and primed to implode upon themselves.
I do not get rhe SNATCH comparisons you make…movie is not like Snatch and I also do not get the Quentin Tarintino comparisions critics make of the film…sure there was violence loads of characters, and quirkiness, but Quentin did not invent those nor did Guy Ritchie and it is a shame anytime someone does something violent and like this they automaticaly get compared to those as if they are trying to rip them off…I gues people should just quit writing violent movies because Q.T. has already done it and is the master and only he allowed to…ha ha that’s just silly.
Smokin Aces was not perfect, but it was loads of movie fun regardless.
Yes, the ending was a bit of a dull thud, but that seemed to be a classic bit of studio interference. The rest of the movie is weird, but it is orchestrated weirdness and has the feeling of something deliberate and semi-surreal. The samurai sword editing style sometimes supports the director’s quirky style, but generally defeats it. This is definitely a “see twice” movie and I’ll know more after my second round.
Some of you people should just stop watching movies. Wes, no one said tarantino or ritchie created the idea of style over substance, they just do it well. Smokin Aces is an attempt at that bit falls far short.
Mardav,
All of this genius you are reading into this film is unwarranted. We’re talking about the man responsible for Buffy The Vampire Slayer. This stylization intentional nor is it original. It’s Cheap crap and a waste of both time and money.
Veee and Skeletor have the right idea. If you want to see a film worth your time go see The Fountain or Pans Labyrinth.
Skeletor - I find it in poor taste to compare this movie to being euthanized like Barbaro. A lot of people loved that horse, and he was euthanized out of necessity not because he had become unnecessary, much like the portrait this author paints of this film.
I don’t usually let others dictate whether a movie is good or not. If I want to see it I will see it, unless there is an overwhelming majority of all people watching the movie, all reviewers, etc. saying it absolutely sucked. Still, I would wait until it came out on DVD and form my own opinion.
I’ve learned the saying….opinions are like assholes is the absolute truth. I also believe Hollywood no longer makes movies like it used to, and the standards Americans hold for movies is poor, liking the crap that is monotonous and the same as everything else and bashing originality in movies. Everything has to be compared to something else because apparently we’ve run out of original thought in this world.
I guess not every movie can be Casablanca eh?
Until we as Americans remember what good cinema is, remember what actors & actresses stood for, and remember that trashy is usually a sign of pathetic not a “future hero for my daughter or son” then no movie is going to please every person.
Get more Godfathers, Gone with the Winds, Psychos and To Kill a Mockingbirds. Otherwise, the crap will never go away. No movie in this recent era, not even Pulp Fiction can compare to movies made in the hey day of Hollywood. Unfortunately, it seems those Golden Days are gone so we are all going to have to agree to disagree with what is now a “good film” and what “sucks”.
You just have to realize that
I just saw this movie today, and actually rather liked it. I thought that Piven did a good job of showing someone completely unraveling. I thought that Common showed he could be a decent actor, and that Ryan Reynolds stole the movie.
Was it perfect? No, but it was entertaining. It was stylized but without allowing the stylization to become more important than the storylines which were decently complex and intertwined. I liked the fact that in the beginning, the storylines are set up and continued by different “narrators”, each giving their own perspective.
Jason Bateman’s character was wonderfully weird. The creepy grandmother with the Ritalin dependent nutty kid were both extremely off-putting, but I think it served to underscore the cowardice of the ex-cop in that situation.
All in all, I thought it was a good movie - and everyone should feel free to make up their own mind about it.
-k