Certificate: 18 Running Time: 108 mins Stars: Jeremy Piven, Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Alicia Keys
Far removed from the gritty realism of 'Narc', Joe Carnahan's latest movie 'Smokin' Aces' has the emphasis on heavy-duty violence, balanced out with a healthy smattering of tongue-in-cheek fun. Buddy 'Aces' Israel (Jeremy Piven) is a Las Vegas stage musician who's set to give evidence against mob boss Primo Sparazza (Joseph Ruskin). Holed up in a hotel in Lake Tahoe, he becomes the target for a whole motley group of assassins all aiming to take him out before two FBI men (Ray Liotta and Ryan Reynolds) get there to protect him... 'Smokin' Aces' wants to be a thrill-seeking gory fun ride, packed full of gun-happy violence, and it initially succeeds. As the action hots up in the hotel and the various assassins and FBI agents clash in a hail of bullets, it's all great gory fun, which is enough to satisfy most action fans. The starry cast also features some decent performances. Reynolds ('Van Wilder'), surprisingly, is a standout. We already know that he has great comic timing, but here he gets to further demonstrate his talent for action, as first evidenced in 'Blade: Trinity’, as well as show that he's capable of handling more serious roles as well. There's also a nice turn from singer Alicia Keys as a sexy female assassin, while Jason Bateman's cameo as a whacked-out lawyer is hilarious and a real highlight of the film. However, Liotta and Piven are both woefully underused for actors of their calibre, while Andy Garcia's role as deputy head of the FBI is little more than a cameo. Still, at least Ben Affleck doesn't hang around long enough to become really annoying... However, where 'Smokin' Aces' falters is its refusal to accept itself for what it is, a dumb fun action flick. The more serious, sombre ending, jars with the fun, frivolous trigger-happy free-for-all action sequences from the movie's middle section and the story itself (also written by Carnahan) is fairly average, with a plot twist that is too glaringly obvious to allow the ending to have much of an impact... Still, if you're an action fan, concentrate on the glorious gun-happy mayhem of 'Smokin' Aces'' middle section and enjoy it for what it is - pure, dumb, brainless good, gory fun... Kirsten McAlpine
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