Smokin' Aces (Widescreen Edition) | 
| Director: Joe Carnahan
Actors: Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Joseph Ruskin, Alex Rocco, Wayne Newton
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy Used: $1.23
You Save: $13.75 (92%)
New (56) Used (112) Collectible (7) from $1.23
Rating:  130 reviews
Sales Rank: 5023
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 109 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: MCAD61032266D
UPC: 025193226624
EAN: 0025193226624
ASIN: B000O77SF4
Theatrical Release Date: January 26, 2007
Release Date: April 17, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
When a las vegas performer-turned-snitch named buddy israel decides to turn states evidence & testify against the mob it seems that a whole lot of people would like to make sure hes no longer breathing. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 05/06/2008 Starring: Ben Affleck Ryan Reynolds Run time: 109 minutes Rating: R
Amazon.com
A frantic and frequently amusing cocktail of Tarantino cool and Hong Kong bullet ballet, Joe (Narc) Carnahan's Smokin' Aces delivers some inspired moments of action and dark comedy in its dizzying-comic book plot about a rogue's gallery of killers on the hunt for a mob informer. At the core of Carnahan's bloody shaggy-dog tale is Buddy Israel (Jeremy Piven, offering a more desperate take on his standard hustler persona), a Vegas magician who's turned informant against the mobsters who have treated him as their personal entertainment. Wishing to close Buddy's overactive mouth permanently, the mob capo puts a bounty on the two-bit showman's head, and a horde of hitmen descends on Buddy's digs to claim the prize. The unholy crew of gunmen offer the movie's most inspired (and outlandish) moments, with R&B singer Alicia Keys (as a cool, Foxy Brown-esque assassin), Nestor Carbonell (as a torture-minded sadist), Ben Affleck and Peter Berg (low-key bail bondsmen) and Chris Pine (the leader of a trio of semi-savage brothers) among the more memorable villains. Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, and Andy Garcia represent the other side of the coin as FBI agents determined to get to Buddy before the legion of doom, and the clashes between both factions produce some eye-popping gunplay. If there's any complaint to be made about Smokin' Aces, it's that the tone shifts between action-drama and hipster comedy feel forced (Carnahan struck a firmer balance between the two in his 1998 indie effort, Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane), but the performances and shootout set pieces, as well as Carnahan's hyperactive camera work, do much to make those transitions palatable. Eagle-eyed audience members will note the presence veteran scene stealers Curtis Armstrong (Ray), David Proval (The Sopranos), and Alex Rocco (The Godfather's Moe Green) in supporting roles. -- Paul Gaita
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| Customer Reviews: Read 125 more reviews...
 Jeremy Piven had to really be on coke when they shot that last sceen January 2, 2009
Lydel
As usual I'm not going to go over the plot as a few hundred people here have done, suffice to say this movie is actually pretty good Sat night entertainment. Some people here are being negative because of it's unrealistic story and plot holes, what movie does not have those?? Uh HELLO, this is an ACTION movie and should be judged as such, especially with a title like "Smoking Aces". I judge movies on their merits in their category, I don't put action movies up against a Drama, Romance etc. Most of the assassins were pretty interesting but of course they were not investigated in any depth. I was a little disappointed in Alicia Keys and partners characters, using the stereo-typical "Black Slang" and using the "N" word thru-out the movie, but they redeemed themselves somewhat by having the best action sequences of the film. Keys partner is a chick with a 50cal sniper rifle, and she brings the HEAT by absolutely shredding some FBI agents in the next building. There were a couple of glaring Assassin and Police mistakes, like when Keys partner goes to another room for a better line-of-site shot and leaves the door open behind her, just in time for the FBI to come and shoot her in the back. (I'm pretty sure Assassins cover their back, that's Assassin 101) Also the highly trained FBI agents know they are taking fire from a monster sniper rifle from another building, yet they stand up and respond with mere pistols, and a SHOTGUN?? Do you know what the spread is on buckshot?? If your not standing right in front of a person, all that shot just spreads out, just dumb. Common and his typical diatribe was unnecessary, to say the least but at least some Black people survived. Anyway, the story was not bad but the action was some of the best gunfight scenes I have witnessed in awhile. Absolutely kinetic. You can tell the directors were trying to copy the standard of Asian action movie gunfights, and they come close but Asian flicks of even 20 years ago (See John Woo) are still some of the greatest gun battles ever committed to celluloid. Anyway, this movie is a good action flick and should not be easily dismissed.
 A little more complex than I thought December 7, 2008
Shamontiel L. Vaughn (Chicago)
Three different crews try to take out Buddy "Aces" Israel after a million dollar contract is put on his head after telling FBI secrets. While one person (FBI agent?) keeps trying to keep his cover under wraps, that quickly fails, and the FBI wants him and all his counterparts as well. Problem is that now the FBI has to deal with the million dollar hungry criminals also looking to take Israel out.
I was curious how Alicia Keys was an actress, and I've enjoyed everything Common has played in films, so that was the main reason I wanted to see it. What I did not expect was for the two entertainers to be so good at playing criminals. I thoroughly enjoyed their performances. The movie started off slow and very detailed (not the type of film you want to turn your head away from or you'll miss something, especially the climactic scene and the "make sense" scene towards the end), and although I'm not too big on action films, I like dramas. This one was impressive.
The secret was a little too confusing and I had to rewatch a scene to make it "make sense." But there was a scene towards the end with Common and Alicia Keys on the stairs that just would NEVER happen with the FBI in real life. That was very much a Hollywood moment, but I liked it nonetheless.
action-packed, star-studded, bullet-riddled, and over-the-top November 20, 2008
D. K. Stokes
Jeremy Piven is Buddy Israel, a Vegas entertainer who's in way over his head. He's about to turn state's evidence, and everybody is out to get him, from the feds who want to put him in protective custody, to bounty hunters to various mob assassins. It's a race to see who'll get to him first, and if any of them will get to him before he implodes.
Smokin' Aces is action-packed, star-studded, bullet-riddled, and over-the-top. I think that's why I liked it so much. It's the movie equivalent of riding a rollercoaster. A thrill ride. You don't have anything to show for it when it's done, but damn, it was fun while it lasted.
In other words, don't look for a deeper meaning, or even any sympathetic characters in this movie, unless maybe it's the hit woman's girlfriend. That was an affecting plot line, in a Bonnie and Clyde kinda way.
The one thing that made me scream (literally--apologies to my neighbors) was the ending. I'm not sure why one unrealistic over-the-top detail in a movie filled with them bugs me so much, but it's just that I keep thinking there are lots of people out there who think that's believable. Maybe I'm underestimating people. . . . . . . . . . Yeah, sure I am. Is that even possible? (Cynicism is me, today. Sorry.)
 Steamin' Deuces November 11, 2008
Anthony (San Francisco, California)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
How many mediocre takes on genre cliches and half-hearted performances of a ridiculous piecemeal script can you pack into an hour and a half? What sort of mess would result from an uninspired pastiche of the hooks of Ritchie, Tarantino, and Ocean's Thirteen, a hopeless attempt to borrow together the coolest movie evar? Smokin' Aces has the answers. Some times it seems like a poorly executed rip-off, other times like a poorly executed parody.
Things explode fairly nicely, in general, though also implausibly. Sadly, Ryan Reynolds' head does not.
Classic fast-paced movie October 5, 2008
freiwill01 (Greenville, SC)
love this movie... good storyline, good acting and continuous action that keeps you on the edge of seat. Poetic justice ending also makes this part of any classic thriller collection.
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