Blu-Ray Review: Pick Up ‘Smokin’ Aces,’ Ignore Lame ‘Smokin’ Aces 2’ Sequel

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CHICAGO – Does anyone else remember when crappy straight-to-DVD sequels were pretty much reserved for horror movies and kid’s flicks? Sure, we expected a new “Leprechaun” or “Air Bud” movie every now and then, but the action market has really gotten into this game recently and produced their share of junk. Take for example the awful “Smokin’ Aces 2,” a shoot-em-up that makes Joe Carnahan’s original look like a genre classic by comparison.

HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0
“Smokin’ Aces” Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0

To be fair, the original “Smokin’ Aces,” also recently released on Blu-ray to coincide with the ignominious debut of its quasi-sequel, IS a genre classic to a lot of young fans who turned it into a massive hit on the home market. Action films always do well on DVD and “Smokin’ Aces” is an unapolegetic bullet opera with a ridiculously talented cast.

Watching “Smokin’ Aces” again in glorious HD (Universal’s 1080p transfers may be the most consistently impressive of any studio), I realized that the movie was much more fun than I remember. The set pieces are a little disappointing until the final act but the cast is ridiculously enjoyable including Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Jeremy Piven, Ben Affleck, Peter Berg, Andy Garcia, Nester Carbonell, Chris Pine, Kevin Durand, Maury Sterling, Taraji P. Henson, and a movie-stealing Common & Alicia Keys.

Smokin' Aces 2 was released on Blu-ray and DVD on January 19th, 2010.
Smokin’ Aces 2 was released on Blu-ray and DVD on January 19th, 2010.
Photo credit: Universal Pictures Home Video

HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 1.0/5.0
“Smokin Aces 2” Blu-Ray Rating: 1.0/5.0

Clearly, an all-star cast was part of the appeal of the first film. So, they came back for the sequel, right? Of course not. Maury Sterling returns as Lester Tremor and Tommy Flanagan is back as Lazlo Soot and that’s the end of it. They are two of the assassin’s that have been given assignments to kill government specialist Walter Weed (Tom Berenger) at exactly 3 o’clock on April 19th.

Agent Baker (a totally ineffective Clayne Crawford) has been tasked with keeping Weed safe and goes to the extreme measure of putting him in an underground bunker underneath a Chicago jazz club and surrounding him with gun-toting agents. Joining the lunatic Tremor family (now highlighted by Autumn Reeser’s slutty-and-crazy AK-47) and the disguise-master Soot are gorgeous-but-deadly Ariella (Martha Higareda), and “The Surgeon” Finbar McTeague (Vinnie Jones). Each assassin has their own style (with the Tremor’s use of exploding human clowns easily the most entertaining) but they all have the same goal - kill Weed, get the money.

Of course, only someone who has never seen a movie before wouldn’t know that “Smokin’ Aces 2” has a twist ending and, if you know you’re straight-to-DVD writing, you’ll probably guess that it has a few. But you’re not here for plot, right? No one rents straight-to-DVD action movies for plot. They want action. So, while I could write hundreds of words on the stupid dialogue and lame characters in “Assassin’s Ball,” let me say only this - it’s boring. There are only a couple of action sequences and they’re not interesting. Only the aforementioned clowns strapped with dynamite made me smile at all.

Smokin' Aces was released on Blu-ray on January 19th, 2010.
Smokin’ Aces 2 was released on Blu-ray on January 19th, 2010.
Photo credit: Universal Pictures Home Video

Stylish films like “Smokin’ Aces” usually disguise a lack of substance with an abundance of action but the sequel misses even that element. It’s what no one wants out of an action movie. It’s boring. Pick up the still-enjoyable first movie. Do what most of the A-list cast of that movie chose to do, say ‘no’ to the second one.

Special Features:

“Smokin’ Aces

o Picture-in-Picture - With Just One Click, Access Cast and Crew Interviews and Behind-the-Scenes Footage
o Assasin Tracker - Use Google Maps to Track the Assassins to Reno
o Alternate Ending
o Deleted Scenes
o Outtakes
o Shoot’Em Up: Stunts And Effects
o The Lineup
o Feature Commentary With The Filmmakers And Cast

“Smokin’ Aces 2”

o Deleted Scenes
o Gag Reel
o Behind The Scenes With Joe Carnahan: Executive Producer Joe Carnahan, Producer Mike Elliott, Writers Olatunde Osunsanmi And Olumide Odebunmi And Director P.J. Pesce Talk About The Process Of Jumping Back Into The World Of Smokin’ Aces.
o Confessions Of An Assassin: Director P.J. Pesce And The Stars Of The Movie Take Us Through Production, From The Ground, Amidst The Mayhem, Blood, Guts, Bullets And All.
o Ready, Aim, Fire: The Weapons Of Smokin’ Aces 2: Meet The Armorer Who Equipped The Gang With The Over 20 Guns In The Film.
o Cue The Clown: A Behind The Scenes Look At What It Took To Produce One Of The Most Explosive Stunts in The Movie.
o The Bunker Mentality: Designing The Set: Production Designer Chris August, Along With Director P.J. Pesce And Executive Producer Joe Carnahan Discuss The Art Deco Look And Feel Of The Sets As Well As The Little Details That Gave Them The Freedom Them To Shoot Quickly And In Every Direction.
o Feature Commentary With Executive Producer Joe Carnahan And Director P.J. Pesce

‘Smokin’ Aces’ is released by Universal Pictures Home Video and stars Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Jeremy Piven, Ben Affleck, Peter Berg, Andy Garcia, Nester Carbonell, Chris Pine, Kevin Durand, Maury Sterling, Taraji P. Henson, Common, and Alicia Keys. It was written and directed by Joe Carnahan. It was released on Blu-ray on January 19th, 2010. It is rated R.

‘Smokin’ Aces 2’ is released by Universal Pictures Home Video and stars Tom Berenger, Clayne Crawford, Tommy Flanagan, Maury Sterling, and Vinnie Jones. It was written by Olatunde Osunsanmi & Ulumide Odebunmi and Tom Abrams & P.J. Pesce and directed by Pesce. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on January 19th, 2010. It is unrated or rated R.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Mo'Brien's picture

Smokin Aces, ACES!

First off, Tommy Flanagan, Tom Berenger and Vinnie Jones all nailed their roles. Secondly, to say that this movie lacks action is to say you lack eyesight! This movie was packed to the brim with gun fights. And good ones too!
Every review for this movie dismisses Pesce and striaght to DVD movies but I can honestly say I have no idea why this wasn’t in the theatres, it was THAT good.

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