Smokin' Aces (2006)

When a Las Vegas performer-turned-snitch named Buddy Israel decides to turn state's evidence and testify against the mob, it seems that a whole lot of people would like to make sure he's no longer breathing.

Director:

Joe Carnahan

Writer:

Joe Carnahan

Stars:

Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Joseph Ruskin

4 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ryan Reynolds	...	Richard Messner
Ray Liotta	...	Donald Carruthers
Joseph Ruskin	...	Primo Sparazza
Alex Rocco	...	Serna
Wayne Newton	...	Himself
Jeremy Piven	...	Buddy Israel
Ben Affleck	...	Jack Dupree
Peter Berg	...	"Pistol" Pete Deeks
Martin Henderson	...	Hollis Elmore
Common	...	Sir Ivy
Christopher Michael Holley	...	Beanie (as Christopher Holley)
Andy Garcia	...	Stanley Locke
Mike Falkow	...	Freeman Heller
Joe Drago	...	FBI Aid
Jeff Habberstad	...	Top Coated Gunman

Storyline

Mob boss Primo Sparazza has taken out a hefty contract on Buddy "Aces" Israel, a sleazy magician who has agreed to turn state's evidence against the Vegas mob. The FBI, sensing a chance to use this small-time con to bring down big-target Sparazza, places Aces into protective custody-under the supervision of two agents dispatched to Aces' Lake Tahoe hideout. When the word of the price on Aces' head spreads into the community of ex-cons and cons-to-be, it entices bounty hunters, thugs-for-hire, deadly vixens and double-crossing mobsters to join in the hunt. With all eyes on Tahoe, this rogues' gallery collides in a comic race to hit the jackpot and rub out Aces.

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Plot Keywords:

lake | fbi | magician | fbi agent | casino | 

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Taglines:

The hit goes down January 26.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language, some nudity and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Studio Canal [fr] United International Pictures [jp]

Country:

UK France USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 January 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Última Cartada

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$14,638,755 (USA) (26 January 2007)

Gross:

$35,635,046 (USA) (9 March 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, StudioCanal, Relativity Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie features 3 actors who starred together in the popular TV show, Lost. Matthew Fox (Jack Sheppard in Lost) plays "Bill" the Security Supervisor, Nestor Campbell (Richard Alpert) plays the assassin Pasquale Acosta, and Kevin Durand (Martin Keamy) plays Jeeves Tremor.

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Goofs

When the camera pan out after Watters emptied the sniper rifle, the rifle had no magazine in the receiver. But later when the FBI stormed the room the rifle had a magazine attached.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Donald Carruthers: You've got to be careful when doing your stakeouts. I did one for... I was on one for six months. I gained, like, 20, 25 pounds. You keep eating this crap...
Richard Messner: Well, that's not my problem, though. I don't gain weight. I tried.
Donald Carruthers: That's 'cause you're 12 years old.

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Connections

References The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

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Soundtracks

"Play Your Cards Right"
(Godoy Colbert, James Conwell, Henry Graham, Common (as Lonnie Rashid Lynn), Karriem Riggins,
Leonard Smith)
Performed by Common featuring Bilal
Courtesy of Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Operations Ltd.
Contains a sample of "Under The Street Lamp"
Performed by Joe Bataan
Courtesy of Emusica Records, LLC

User Reviews

Gore and Grins for the Guys

Here's another addition to anyone's list of definitive "guy flicks". Compared to testosterone treats like Jason Statham's pair of Transporter stints, this one offers a more complicated plot, fewer explosions and chases, but more gruesome killings. Plus some fine touches of grim humor, and a dash of eye candy. It comes from the fertile, if demented, mind of Joe Carnahan, who struck first with the cheapie hit Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane, before upgrading to studio-quality crime drama in Narc. Arguably, he's the US doppelganger for England's Guy Ritchie (Lox, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch - both also featuring Statham), since he's less arty and cinematically historical about showcasing mayhem than Quentin Tarantino.

Jeremy Piven plays a Las Vegas lounge star and gangster wannabe, who first endears himself to the Mob, runs afoul of the local Capo, then offers his testimony to the FBI in exchange for protection and profit. When the Mafiosi put a $1M price-tag on his head, hordes of hit persons (solos and teams, male and female, foreign and domestic; the EEOC would be more than satisfied with this field's diversity), some hired, others freelance, converge on the casino penthouse in Lake Tahoe where their quarry is "hiding", while his agent (gifted, yet underemployed, Curtis Armstrong) negotiates terms with the Feds.

The deep cast includes Ben Affleck, Ray Liotta, Andy Garcia, Jason Bateman, Alicia Keys, and plenty of other familiar faces. Carnahan careens among multiple arenas of plotting, with FBI briefings filling in the audience and their agents on some of the players they're about to face, building to the inevitable chaos of competing factions converging on Piven and his legion of bodyguards, in what promises to be a dazzling display of carnage and comedy. The reality comes pretty close, with a couple of cool surprises along the way.

Unfortunately, Carnahan, like a certain US President who comes to mind, crafted his superb attack without a viable exit strategy. After the cosmic convergence, there's more exposition and anticlimactic wind-down than anyone needed, or the preceding frenzy deserved.

Enjoy the movie, fellas. But for those who wait (or double-dip), expect the DVD's extras to include at least one alternate ending, and several bloody and/or sexy deleted scenes that were axed for optimal running time, rather than lack of titillation.