A Última Cartada

6.6 (The collective rating at the time of this writing) is pretty accurate.

I watched this on Netflix (via Xbox Live) a while ago and haven't mustered up enough words to give this a sound review. So this will be one of my shorter ones. Or at least one of my least detailed, on par with some of my much earlier reviews.

I remember a while ago, seeing the previews of this and knowing right off the bat that it was my type of movie. Mindless, violent, and awesome. NUMEROUS mercenaries and assassins are sent towards one guy for being a mob mole. A brilliant concept where they could have easily just made it a mindless slaughter-fest.

I went in expecting that, and that's exactly what I got.

What I DIDN'T expect is an entire back storyline detailing the history of facial disguises and how much of an important part it plays throughout the entire story - even though it's in the background and not revealed until the very end.

So it started as a mindless "ten versus one" assassination but ended as a near-intellectual thriller. I was, as my summary tagline thing states, "Thoroughly impressed".

I know I gave it a 7 but I honestly cannot think of any gripes, and the ones I do are way too minor and end up having a balancing factor.

For example, the movie doesn't seem to want us to be sympathetic with "Aces". The balancing act? It later reveals that you're really not supposed to be.

And that's pretty much the rest of the cast too. They act well, but you don't really give a damn about any of them; BUT THAT'S OKAY. Once again, you don't really HAVE to.

So, I suppose I gave it a 7 (as opposed to 8 or 9, I almost never give out 10's) because it's raunchy and mindless and it's not really any kind of instant classic.

Either way, it's worth seeing. Definitely. I'm glad I did.

There is a new genre infesting our nation's movie theaters. With apologies to Garrison Kellior, let's call it "guy noir". Films aimed directly at the young, hip male audience. Movies that are an unholy combination of old fashioned film noir and the modern action movie, as directed by the class clown. They offer fast paced entertainment, great character actors, twisty plot lines, explosions and more spent ordinance than used in a typical week in Baghdad. Even new genres breed clichés however and the original freshness heralded by Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction is beginning to smell the slightest bit stale. This brings us to Smokin' Aces, a movie that isn't so smug as to be intolerable or so brilliant as to be ground breaking. Rather it is good, competent, workmanlike example of its genre, which is bad news for a movie that wants to be hip and edgy.

Smokin' Aces has the requisite twisty plot. Actually it has at least nine plots, all twisty. In fact it has so many plots the movie dissolves into a series of incidences strung together by a smattering of narrative glue. Aces, a card magician and mob nabob, turns federal stoolie and a dying Godfather posts a high dollar contract on him. Naturally every photogenic hit-man with the weekend free descends upon Ace's casino penthouse to do the job and collect the dough. Smokin' Aces tries hard and includes everything needed to qualify as guy noir. It even tries to incorporate the "Tarantino Digression". That is, extended expository flashbacks incorporated for no good reason except that they are fun to watch. Smoking Aces can't quite pull these off as they require a defter touch than the movie is capable of.

There aren't any real people in Smokin' Aces. All the characters are strictly stereotypes played for effect rather than reality. Jeremy Piven as Aces is the self loathing hop head, Alicia Keys and Georgia Sykes are the hot lesbian hit team, Ben Afleck is the hipster bounty hunter and so on. Everything you need to know about these guys you learn in the first split second they are on the screen. There is no star in Smokin' Aces. Afleck, the biggest name, has a relatively small part and is upstaged by his hat. You might remember Chris Pine, Kevin Durand and Maury Sterling as the Tremor brothers if only because they were the loudest, most violent bunch in a loud violent movie. The only actor who rises above caricature is Ray Liotta, who invests his FBI agent with quiet dignity and a touch of pathos and in doing so sticks out like a sore thumb. It takes a strange sort of movie for a review to criticize the one genuinely good performance in it but Liotta just doesn't fit.

Smokin' Aces manages to hold its whirly gig self together for the most part. There are a few problems. It goes on too long after the climatic blood bath wrapping up plot threads you probably didn't notice amongst the explosions. There is a denouement where a hero, brought in from way out in left field, makes an existential choice that is not nearly as agonizing as the movie thinks it is because we have no emotional investment in the fellow making it. Though the final plot twist is prepared for and makes as much sense as anything else in the film, still it feels flat and unsatisfying. Think of Smokin' Aces as a shaggy dog story. It's long, involved and fun to listen to but ultimately goes nowhere.

Smokin' Aces was most certainly a bit of a magic show within itself, in that while you watched the evident plot go one way, you didn't notice the actual plot until BAM! it came out of nowhere. It wasn't the most coherent of plots sometimes, but for the most part it all wraps up in the end.

As far as greatness goes, this won't be up there winning awards. Rather, it might be remembered fondly as "that cool movie I saw a while ago." Good drama, good action. Ryan Reynolds breaks out in a truly serious and compelling role.

Definitely a movie worth viewing.

There was a fair amount of comedy, thrill, and action. Each element was delivered at the right moment. The premise of the movie is not too complex. The movie provides enough background information in order for you to enjoy the movie. You have to buy in to the contrivance that multiple people are going to try to kill one man on the top floor of a casino. If you get pass that, you will have a really good time. Character performances were great. It has an amazing cast. Wonderful performances are given to Ryan Reynolds in a serious role and Jeremey Piven.

OVERALL...The story was good. This movie also had appealing eye-candy. You will get excited about this movie.

I'm sick and tired of these people who watch a movie at some lame "premiere" and then criticize said movie because it was too complex. Wake up! Some movies are simple and beautiful. Others are complex but also great. You can't just trash a movie for seeing it once and not understanding it's meaning. You have to work it. Watch it a few times to get the whole story before you make a stupid review. How many years did it take humanity to recognize Van Gogh and some other painters and writers? Some times it took decades. So remember kids cinema is art not an excuse to eat popcorn.

Now the Smoking Aces: It goes through almost all the emotions. It's funny, it's sad, it's annoying, it's cool, it's hip and it shoots up the place. Good story, cool characters and a few great actors. It delivers thrills with a reasonably good filming and it's a definite watch. Not a masterpiece but a pretty good flick.