Movie Review: Smokin' Aces only great in barren winter schedule

02/07/07 - While Smokin' Aces can't aspire to the heights of truly great gangster movies like The Godfather and Goodfellas, or to clever "trick" movies like The Usual Suspects and Snatch, the film does fill the void in an otherwise slow month for movies. When your competition is Epic Movie and Because I Said So, it doesn't take much to shine.Smokin' Aces follows the story of the most wanted man in America, Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven), a Vegas entertainer. There were always rumors that Frank Sinatra secretly had plenty of mob power; Israel is Gangster Sinatra mixed with the card tricks of Penn and Teller.

However, Israel is sloppy when it comes to his illegal actions, and the FBI has been following him for months. His mob boss, Primo Sparazza (Joseph Ruskin), has finally had enough of his screw-ups and orders a hit. The payoff for the hit? A ridiculously high $1 million for the heart of Buddy Israel.

The high price brings every conceivable killer out of the woodwork. They range from the crazed Nazi Tremor brothers (think the Nihilists from The Big Lebowski, but even more deranged) to a pair of African-American hitwomen (Alicia Keys and Taraji Henson) to Jack Dupree (Ben Affleck), a bail bondsman.

Besides Dupree, the only players not vying to kill Israel are the FBI, who value him as an important witness against Sparazza's criminal organization. FBI department head Stanley Locke (Andy Garcia) sends agents Richard Messner (Ryan Reynolds) and Donald Carruthers (Ray Liotta) to protect Israel, who is holed up in a Lake Tahoe casino resort.

With the basic premise in place, revealing anything more would be a sacrilegious example of spoiling. However, certain characters and groupings in the interweaving plot are especially effective.

Jason Bateman is stunning in his three minutes of screen time, playing a self-deprecating former lawyer of Israel. His two scenes involve a bra, a thong and a pink costume rabbit helmet. Enough said.

Piven excels as Israel, a slimy entertainer that is an exaggeration of his similar character on HBO's Entourage. Piven plays Israel with just the right amount of false bravado and desperation, as his character slips into panic from his cocaine abuse and paranoia.

Surprisingly, Reynolds is also memorable. Who knew the star of Waiting and Van Wilder had it in him? He plays a straight dramatic role with no comedy involved. He spans a range of emotion in the film, and remains believable, even as he is forced to make shocking decisions as the movie proceeds.

Two musicians also give strong performances in their film debuts - Keys as a hired killer and rapper Common as Israel's main bodyguard. With such a talented, experienced cast around them, it is surprising that they shine so brightly. Both have strong futures as at least character actors, if they wish it.

Unfortunately, all of these great characters are somewhat compromised by improper pacing and a lack of cohesion in the main plot. The most frustrating aspect of Smokin' Aces is that while it might be a six or seven on the 10-scale, it could have easily been a 10.

For example, the movie takes a while to develop because of the sheer amount of characters involved. They are interesting characters, but except for one quick burst of action, nothing really happens in the first hour of Smokin' Aces. It is all plot and character development.

The character development works for the most part, but the plot takes several puzzling turns. Other reviewers have compared Smokin' Aces to Pulp Fiction, but it lacks the cleverness and fun of Tarantino's masterpiece. Events feel jammed together, as opposed to having smooth transitions from scene to scene.

Honestly though, what else are you going to see? If you like action movies, Smokin' Aces is the only thing available for you in theaters worth seeing. Even with some plot and pacing flaws, the second half of the movie does pay off with some incredible action scenes.