Movie Review: Smokin' Aces

The marketing for Smokin' Aces paints the flick as a slick, stylish, hip, hyper-violent, shoot 'em up, "hire the hitmen to take out the scumbag mafia rat before he can snitch on us", movie; an American version of a Guy Ritchie ensemble piece like Snatch with a little Tarantino flair and gore thrown in for good measure. For the most part, the marketing is accurate. You'll see Jeremy Piven chewing up scenery better than ever before as the burnt-out, coke-snorting, whore-mongering, small-time Vegas stage magician-turned wannabe mafia sleazebag Buddy "Aces " Israel, who is holed up in a Tahoe penthouse under the FBI's protection until he can turn state's evidence against the mob. Piven's the best in the business when it comes to making degenerate, weaselly characters instantly funny and likeable, and you will almost feel bad for this scumbag as he's targeted by a host of colorful hitmen.

And oh boy, are these hitmen characters colorful. They also happen to be the best part of the movie, mostly due to the tremendous casting involved. Ben Affleck (yes, I followed the words 'tremendous casting' with Affleck's name) is great as an opportunistic bail bondsman out to nail Buddy with his two ex-cop buddies (Peter Berg and Martin Henderson). I've always stated that Affleck is genius in small doses when he has the right role to play (namely, a fast-talking dirtbag with a thick Boston or Jersey accent), and he delivers big time in the small amount of screentime he's given.