Read Mixed User Reviews for Smokin' Aces

6

imthenoobSep 28, 2013

It's a little rough at first but once you get around 1/3 into it, Smokin' Aces starts to take off and actually becomes quite an enjoyable action film. I'd recommend it.

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4

SteveKOct 27, 2007

a movie that tries so hard to be clever that it's annoying as all hell. lots of style and an interesting enough story and set up with little to no payoff. the ending tries so hard to be twisty and unpredictable, but it gives away too a movie that tries so hard to be clever that it's annoying as all hell. lots of style and an interesting enough story and set up with little to no payoff. the ending tries so hard to be twisty and unpredictable, but it gives away too much and it's terribly contrived. In the end, i had the overwhelming feeling of being cheated. I give this movie a big fat "who cares?"… Expand

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5

PfillipT.Feb 10, 2007

Not the best movie in the world, but definitely made better by its cast. The only reason to watch from start to finish is not the thrilling action (which is broken into segments, interrupted by "emotional" parts for lack of a better word), Not the best movie in the world, but definitely made better by its cast. The only reason to watch from start to finish is not the thrilling action (which is broken into segments, interrupted by "emotional" parts for lack of a better word), but rather you want to see the cast flip out and shoot something. As an action movie, it's lacking good momentum. As a drama, it's lacking a decent storyteller's focus. Smokin' Aces fails if only because it tries to be both without having mastered one of its genres. Just watch it because Piven blows everyone else away with one of his best performances to date and call it a day.… Expand

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6

MasonH.Jan 30, 2007

The set up took too long, the fighting was too short and sporatic, and the ending was too bad.

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6

JimmyB.Feb 13, 2007

To simply state that it is just a Jeremy Piven movie is to be sorely mistaken. There was a great all-around cast, yet there was no central storytelling focus. Piven was indeed the best character in the movie, but Jason Bateman was phenomenal To simply state that it is just a Jeremy Piven movie is to be sorely mistaken. There was a great all-around cast, yet there was no central storytelling focus. Piven was indeed the best character in the movie, but Jason Bateman was phenomenal as the drunken lawyer, Ben Affleck as the dopey, bail bondsman with a southern accent, and the hit men were all central in making the movie go ballistic. However, Piven, not Ryan Reynolds, held the movie together for most of the movie, and without him, the story lost focus and tried to be too emotional. But by then, you could care less, especially when you learn that the joke was on us all along, for thinking that it is a real gangsta' movie. What it was in return, were nuggets of good, solid, golden acting from all of the cast, not just Piven. And while Piven did a great job, and the story should've surrounded his character, it wasn't too different from Entourage's version of Ari Gold (which is an awesome show, by the way, you should watch it, way better than this film)--nor was I surprised by his brilliant acting--but it adds to Piven's resume and versatility as one of the best supporting actors that should have his own movie some day without the directors or writers getting in the way, because he is just that good. Smokin' Aces, however, falls just short of being a great movie, just a mindless action movie that attempts at a successful plot, but falls just short of it.… Expand

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5

DamianP.May 2, 2007

I don't know why I'm being so generous with my rating because I couldn't wait for the film to end. Well, that's not exactly true - I did wait for it to end. But that's it, I sat there waiting. Not enjoying.

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6

KelvinL.Jan 27, 2007

It was good in parts and the cast list was impressive. Alicia Keys looks hot! A fair bit of stylised action and high octane gunplay but ultimately the story is a pretty weak one. The script didn't really seem sharp enough and It was good in parts and the cast list was impressive. Alicia Keys looks hot! A fair bit of stylised action and high octane gunplay but ultimately the story is a pretty weak one. The script didn't really seem sharp enough and doesn't compete with the likes of a Tarantino movie which it plainly is trying to imitate. There was far too much complex narrative both at the beginning and end of the movie to explain the set up and the conclusion, giving you the unsatisfactory sense of only watching half a movie with the other half being essentially read to you in fast forward! The ending was pretty disappointing given the carnage that had gone before hand. Having said that it's worth seeing but it's nothing special and probably will spawn a sequel in some shape or form.… Expand

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6

DonaldK.Feb 13, 2007

If the film was supposed to be moral "(the moral being don't kill"), it missed its mark big time. But as an action-packed film with dialogue, it works. It jumps around from character to character and though you'd like more lines If the film was supposed to be moral "(the moral being don't kill"), it missed its mark big time. But as an action-packed film with dialogue, it works. It jumps around from character to character and though you'd like more lines from each one (well, some more preferably than others), the end kind of bottoms out by just concluding that they were father and son by introducing the John Heller character early with the "he plans to change faces multiple times" and guess what? the mob boss had 15 operations! okay, from a plot standpoint, the film gets kind of cheesy. But face it, the story line itself isn't going to win an Oscar (nor probably its director anytime soon, not that I have anything against him, but his first film, Blood, Guts, and Octane doesn't exactly suggest best picture), but hell, it was damn good and fine acting, and it entertained the hell out of me for about 60-80% of the movie. So the film wasn't bad. And for that, I credit.… Expand

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6

JohnG.Feb 2, 2007

Great action, muddled plot, wannabe gangsta movie turned FBI cop drama, with great lines from Jason Bateman formerly of Arrested Development and HBO's Jeremy Piven of Entourage (they should've given them more lines) = mediocrely Great action, muddled plot, wannabe gangsta movie turned FBI cop drama, with great lines from Jason Bateman formerly of Arrested Development and HBO's Jeremy Piven of Entourage (they should've given them more lines) = mediocrely good, and mediocrely bad. (I don't think I'm using real words, but whatever.) Fine acting performances all around, Common and Alicia Keys were good in their first-time roles, and Ben Affleck was also good in his short cameo stint. The gangsta turned FBI cop drama I thought was crap, that the FBI controlled the last strains of the mob, although the mob is ordering hits and killing people who shouldn't be involved anyways, and while the two FBI agents were sent out on an eventually pointless mission, I did love the action sequences, the drama, and classic Jeremy Piven acting. Also, the most dramatic role from Ryan Reynolds I've seen yet. I'd like to rate this movie lower, but the action scenes were too brilliant. I'm caught, torn in the middle.… Expand

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5

ChadS.Apr 2, 2007

"Smokin' Aces" introduces too many characters, too quickly, and none of them are particularly memorable(with the exception of Georgia(Alicia Keys) and Sharice(Taraji P. Henson)). Admittedly, the idea of a magician(Jeremy Piven) who "Smokin' Aces" introduces too many characters, too quickly, and none of them are particularly memorable(with the exception of Georgia(Alicia Keys) and Sharice(Taraji P. Henson)). Admittedly, the idea of a magician(Jeremy Piven) who aspires to be Michael Corleone(or Tony Montana) is amusing, but the double-life aspect would've been funnier had Buddy(Piven) still been an active entertainer. The trip to Las Vegas isn't the joyride it should've been, because this filmmaker doesn't write clever and memorable dialogue like Quentin Tarantino; and once we've arrived at sin city, he doesn't quite match Richard Rodriguez's dubious talent of staging violent mayhem that sickens, as well as entertains. Two actors, both women, who against considerable odds(this is a guys' night out kind of flick) overcome their mediocre dialogue are singer-songwriter Keys, who is surprisingly self-assured as a hit-woman; and Henson, who provides "Smokin' Guns" with any semblance of humanity in the midst of all that flowing blood and testosterone. Without their presence, their counterbalance against the coked-up hos, "Smokin' Guns" would be answering charges of misogyny by people who hate hip-hop.… Expand

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6

abbylJun 28, 2007

Enjoyable movie to the end. All flash and gore so I wasn't really up to par with the whole movie. It starts hard and finishes hard. The characters aren't the easiest to follow, but the movie was an enjoyable one.

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6

AMovieCriticJun 11, 2007

Smokin Aces; C+ What a rush. This movie starts out fast and just never stops. It's shot in a very interesting, almost graphic-novel style, it's deliberately over-the-top, it's very funny, and doesn't take itself Smokin Aces; C+ What a rush. This movie starts out fast and just never stops. It's shot in a very interesting, almost graphic-novel style, it's deliberately over-the-top, it's very funny, and doesn't take itself seriously. Amazing music, too. It's unfortunately WAY too hard to follow. There's tons and tons of characters (a whose-who of celebrities) and some just don't seem fleshed out enough. At times I was kind of clueless as to what was going on. I think the movie really could have used some "down time" to explain the situation a bit more clearly. Neat plot twist at the end, though. And Jeremy Piven as Buddy Israel offers one hell of an amazing performance. Ben Affleck also (surprisingly) makes a good impression here, even though his role in the movie is a lot smaller than you'd think. Alicia Keys is pretty awesome as well. Overall....maybe worth a rental for a bizarre, funny rush but then again, if you're not a fan of kinetic action, skip it. The action never stops. And it's pretty hard to follow.… Expand

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6

AlecB.Jul 21, 2007

it was ok. there was not as much action as i expected and the ending was dumb and confusing. If it wasn't 4 Jeremy Piven then this movie would have sucked.. Should've made the movie different

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4

Jonathans.Dec 19, 2007

It's sad when so many people all think that the plot in this was confusing. There weren't really that many characters in total, the plot lines didn't really intersect much until the shoot-outs, and the plot's almost It's sad when so many people all think that the plot in this was confusing. There weren't really that many characters in total, the plot lines didn't really intersect much until the shoot-outs, and the plot's almost handed to you on a platter in the beginning. I watched this movie with the sole purpose to fill a brief need for brainless action, and I was mostly fulfilled. Carnahan's enthusiasm is welcome, but doesn't lend too much to the film in the end-- especially when his script is somewhat confused on what it wants to be, or which characters to sympathize with. A good example of this: we go through most of the movie with the assassins and the climax involves the multiple shoot-outs with the aforementioned-- and then, somehow, by the end of the film, we're being told we need to sympathize with the FBI agent, and feel something for his decision/inner turmoil (which wasn't done very well, so we didn't exactly care too much at all what he did, more or less about the "twist"). There were some parts where I thought "Ok, that was cool."-- such as the sniper scene on the seventh floor. But Israel (the character, not the country obviously), didn't really have much of a role in the film, except mope and get high; disappointing, since I was expecting it to be more along the lines that he would use some sort of magic trick or illusions to stay alive from the attacks or such-- why not? The film was already pretty over-the-top. But unlike Shoot 'Em Up, another high-octane action flick that was released around the same time (but was actually pretty entertaining), Smokin' Aces tries to hard to make something of plot and characters-- something that, in all honesty, weren't handled nearly well enough to warrant any empathy from the audience. If it were, as Shoot Em' Up did, to just say heck with plot, let's make this almost a parody of the genre by having about .5% of a plot-- that would have been much better. So other than Carnahan's punchy direction and a few good action sequences, this film doesn't have too much going for it. At least it's better than Domino (another multiple assassin/mobster movie)-- that movie was just exceedingly terrible. Smokin' Aces: reccommended for mindless movie night, or if you just want a brief action fix.… Expand

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5

TyranianMay 1, 2020

An interesting mess, combining the brilliant and the incoherent. Well-acted.

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5

Compi24Sep 14, 2020

Similar to Troy Duffy's 1999 cult classic, "The Boondocks Saints," Joe Carnahan's "Smokin' Aces" contains many of the surface-level hallmarks of a Tarantino flick (excessive violence, indulgent dialogue, stylistic idiosyncrasies, etc.) butSimilar to Troy Duffy's 1999 cult classic, "The Boondocks Saints," Joe Carnahan's "Smokin' Aces" contains many of the surface-level hallmarks of a Tarantino flick (excessive violence, indulgent dialogue, stylistic idiosyncrasies, etc.) but none of the other elements of actual substance within those works (narrative intricacy, thematic intrigue, impressive camerawork, etc.) Surprisingly enough, the crux of this movie's watchability stems from its retroactively all-star cast. Joel Edgerton, Taraji P. Henson, Chris Pine and even Jason Bateman feature prominently in the film, but rest nowhere near top billing, as they all appear within earlier points along their respective careers. With a cast like that, it's kinda funny how Jeremy Piven was considered the star of this movie at the time of its release. On a serious note, though, there's some troublesome humor in this, particularly one bit involving the director lewdly poking fun at a teenager with attention deficit issues. I mean, what the hell, man? I don't even think I would've found that funny in 2006. Also, there's a third-act exposition dump in this that I swear would make even the likes of Hideo Kojima blush. As I write this, I'm shocked I didn't end up rating "Smokin' Aces" lower than the above score. Perhaps my tolerance of decent-looking gunfights is getting in the way of my academic eye? Who's to say, except me, and I'm already done wanting to talk about this thing.… Expand

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6

Voodoo123May 13, 2022

Well you know that cool moment in that cool action Crime drama where that one cool character had that interesting quirk? Well this is a movie filled to the brim with about 20 of those characters mixed in with hyperactive direction andWell you know that cool moment in that cool action Crime drama where that one cool character had that interesting quirk? Well this is a movie filled to the brim with about 20 of those characters mixed in with hyperactive direction and editing. It's ridiculous and stylish but ultimately too much to sustain itself from bursting at its seams. Entertaining but flawed.… Expand

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6

InjuredDriverAug 13, 2022

A slightly above average film. If you're looking for a highly stylized, high octane, high violence movie, then you'll probably get some enjoyment out of it. Much of the writing is absurd and requires a willful suspension of disbelief toA slightly above average film. If you're looking for a highly stylized, high octane, high violence movie, then you'll probably get some enjoyment out of it. Much of the writing is absurd and requires a willful suspension of disbelief to accept. Lots of great actors, all doing a great job. Actual score is probably a 5.5.… Expand

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