And the gods smiled upon us! Because the first movie I've had the chance to plop my ass in for 2007 was great!
Okay, you know the part in Empire Strikes Back where Darth Vader is hiring all the bounty hunters to go find Han Solo? How cool did they all look? Fucking awsome right? And then Boba Fett. Standing there all Boba Fett-like. Wasn't he cool? Almost makes you wish he would have done something huh? Instead, what did he do? Nothing. Sure he was smart, and got to fire maybe two rounds of ammo. But he didn't really get to show off what makes him cool. Neither did Bossk, or IG-88, or Zuckuss, or 4-LOM, or Dengar. None of them got to do anything! And they all looked cool as hell! But there was no bounty hunter back stabbing or bounty hunter fight. None. Kind of anti-climatic isn't it?
Smoking Aces is the exact opposite of that. There is a huge cast of great actors and actresses. And each and every one of them, in one way or another, is a bounty hunter. And this whole movie is about how they're going to interact with one another as they each go after their target.
Syndicated crime boss Primo Sparazza has had enough Buddy 'Aces' Isreal. A sleazy magician who somehow became 2nd in command of Primo's empire. He's hired a specialist named 'The Swede', to go kill Aces and bring back his heart. And he's going to pay him a million dollars to do it. . . . And shit hits the fan! Everyone and their mother finds out that there's a million dollar hit on Aces' head. And some of the most hardcore, perverted, fantastically entertaining characters come crawling out of the woodwork.
First, there's the FBI. Primarily Agents Richard Messner and Donald Carruthers. Played by Ryan Reynolds and Ray Liotta respectivley. I've always been a fan of Ryan Reynolds and Ray Liotta. And to have them both up on the same screen? HEAVEN! The old greats and the new greats. Then there's the bail bondsmen. Hollis, and 'Pistol' Pete. Headed up by Jack Dupree, played non other than by Ben 'fucking' Afflec. And he's great in this movie. This is the 2nd movie in a short period of time that I've really enjoyed Ben's performance. This is what he needs to do. Pick really great roles and act the shit out of them. The offers will come screaming back to him, and then finally I'll have what I've wanted for years now. Daredevil 2.
Lazlo Soot is a mster of disguise and he'll kill you before you know you're dead. And he's played by Tommy Flanagan. Better known as the guy with the scars in Braveheart, Gladiator, and Sin City. Then there's Pasquale Acosta. A man who loves torture, and applying it to different people. He even chewed his fingertips off to prevent himself from being identified. But then the summbitch goes and kills the head of security at one point. That wouldn't normally bother me, but for the fact the head of security was Matthew Fox from LOST! Boooo! No one can kill Jack!!! Not even Benjamin Linus could kill Jack. But that just proves what kind of killer this Pasquale Acosta is. The best scene in the whole movie is actually between Paquale and Carruthers. Pasquale has tricked Carruthers into thinking that he's a hotel security gaurd. Carruthers gets in the same elevator with him and the two of them quickly discover who the other is. What follows this revelation is perhaps one of the most violent gun fights I've ever seen. The two of them, stuck in an elevator, a regular sized elevator mind you, just firing bullet after bullet into each other. They even both slump down the side of the car almost lifeless and they're still firing into their almost dead bodies. Awsomely awsome.
Then they're are the best bounty hunters in the whole goddamn movie. The Tremors! Three guys who all have different fathers but the same "whore mother". They are kamakazi-like killers. They'll bust into a joint and kill every man and woman standing, just to kill the man they were paid to kill. They are a bunch of psychos man. They wear what looks like a bunch of gear they picked up from some of their hits. They're also emotionally unbalanced. The leader of their little troup is played by Chris Pine. And he's by far one of the most interesting characters in this movie. After he kills someone on the side of the road, he comes up to the corpse while his brother rough house like adult children. He asks the corpse for forgiveness and asks him what heaven is like and whether or not he'll get in. All the while he's making the body's mouth move up and down as he gives himself his own answers. Tears flowing from his eyes. He's actually remorsful! That's some weird shit. But all so goddamn entertaining!
Jeremy Piven is great as Buddy Israel. He's neurotic, crazed, bipolar, coked up, and borish. Hey! That's every role Jeremy Piven's ever had!! Well he's just as good in that same role here. He's Jeremy Piven!!!
FINAL ANALYSIS!
Any movie can be made brilliant with the right amount of creative characters. Like one of my favorit movies of all times Touch of Evil. It's got a ton of off-the-wall characters and just enough drama to make us take it seriously. That's what's great about this film. Just a slew of great characters running around trying to kill one person. It's great, great fun!
Back to the Main Page
Back to the Movie Reviews