Product Details

• Actors: Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Joseph Ruskin, Alex Rocco, Wayne Newton
• Directors: Joe Carnahan
• Writers: Joe Carnahan
• Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Universal Studios
• DVD Release Date: April 17, 2007
• Run Time: 109 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (187 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000O77SF4
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,535 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Smokin' Aces (Widescreen Edition)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

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

Product Description

Slick Las Vegas illusionist Buddy "Aces" Israel isn't playing nice. Turns out, he's telling mob secrets to the FBI. After a $1 million contract is put out on him, Aces tries to pull his greatest disappearing act before a rogues' gallery of ex-cons, hit men and smokin' hot assassins tries to rub him out in this dark action comedy that takes no prisoners.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars It is what it is -- a great-looking, trippy action flick February 11, 2007

By Peace Brotha

Smokin Aces is one of the best eye candy films I have seen in years.

It is full of interesting camera angles, shocks, thrills, humor and characters that you will remember. I for one appreciate the fact that almost none of the actors were cast as you'd expect. And while SA is not what I would call a retro-style film, there are more than enough nods to the 1970's that fans of that culture like me will really get a kick out of this film's style.

And WHAT a soundtrack.

Note: there are so many plots and subplots interwoven throughout SA that you will surely need to see this movie once more to catch everything, including some of the more profound statements about the darker sides of the human psyche that the director may or may not be trying to comment on.

Some of the reviewers say there's too much violence. Hello. That's what these types of movies are about. Period.

All in all, SA is a great-looking and trippy action flick that doesn't try to be something that it isn't: "deep." Don't look for Academy Award winning ANYTHING here. But be prepared for an interesting ride that you will surely want to take again, and in 20 years it will be a lot more acclaimed than it is now. Just wait and see.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Man August 9, 2007

By RG69 VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

I really wanted this to be good. You look at the list of characters that star in this and you figure it has got to be good. I was hoping for a semi serious picture with a great story like Ocean's Eleven(the remake). Instead this was more of a Hong Kong over the top action film with buckets of bloody killings. I don't mind pictures like that, but the box said drama comedy. I'm not sure where the comedy was in the movie. The acting is fine, and there certainly was some offbeat characters. Unfortunately everything has a ton of promise, but very little hits the mark. This was decent to watch and entertaining, but I wasn't blown away like I would have hoped. Certainly worth renting, and probably a buy for a lot of people. I would watch it first rather than making a blind buy.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Sure it won't win any awards, but it was still fun to watch. June 21, 2007

By Peter Shermeta VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Believe it or not, this movie was actually relatively entertaining. Even when some pretty small parts are involved, I am always interested in seeing a movie with a cast like this. Let me list a few people who made appearances in Smokin' Aces: Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Jeremy Piven, Ben Affleck, Peter Berg, Common, Andy Garcia, Alicia Keys, "that girl from Hustle & Flow," Jason Bateman and Matthew Fox.

The movie was completely ridiculous. Ryan Reynolds started to go a little overboard at the end, but other than that the movie does not take itself seriously at all. If you try to take this movie seriously, you will be grossly disappointed. Smokin' Aces combined just about every possible stereotype into a murder-for-hire movie, but did it to be satirical and did not come across as cliché. It was so ridiculous, in fact, that I considered it almost on par with a Quentin Tarantino flick.

Call me crazy, but I liked Smokin' Aces...for what it was. I was looking for an off-the-wall, shoot-'em-up, action movie and that is exactly what I got. I was even impressed with the creativity behind the story (though the end was somewhat of a let down).

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars "Way Past Words" ~ Prostitutes, Perverts, Psychos & Professionals of the Murderous Kind April 18, 2007

By Brian E. Erland HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

`Smokin' Aces' released on DVD in '07 is the next step in the evolution of madness and mayhem begun by the '94 cult classic `Pulp Fiction' and redefined in '03 with `Kill Bill.' Like the two previously mentioned films "Smokin' Aces' presents a display of outlandish, wacked out "bad guys" and hard nosed, amoral "good guys" that will keep you riveted to the screen. The action is fast and furious, the bloodshed plentiful and the plot turns will keep you wondering where this film is taking you until the very end.

This movie is definitely not for everyone [especially children] but if you like this genre of film you'll love this one!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Bloody Humorous May 14, 2007

By Thomas D. Ryan

Format:DVD

If you like your violence to be action-coated with a veneer of dark humor to help it go down smoothly, then pick up a six pack and a copy of "Smokin' Aces." Maybe you oughta make that two six-packs, since you'll probably feel compelled to watch the film a second time anyway. Then again, maybe the beer is a bad idea, since it may inhibit your ability to comprehend the storyline. Hell, I was sober as a judge, and I found myself hitting rewind at least four times, trying to figure out who was killing whom, and why they were doing it. "Smokin' Aces" pulls its audience in so many directions simultaneously that you'll feel as stretched as Gumby at a tractor pull.

The plot concerns itself with Buddy "Aces" Israel, a Vegas magician who gets intimately involved with the mob, but somehow turns state's witness. While he is holed up in a penthouse suite, the `organization' places a highly publicized and highly valuable contract on his head (or more accurately, his heart - the mob boss wants his second most valuable organ removed). As a result, every psychotic, money-hungry lunatic rushes to compete for the prize. While the premise suggests that a sense of humor is essential to the storyline, the plot is actually much more gruesome than I had expected. More than once, I couldn't decide to laugh or wince as the blood sprayed abundantly. Between the flying bullets, plot twists pile up as fast as the body count.

As "Aces" Israel, Jeremy Piven manages some of the rawest, reddest eyes I have ever seen outside of a medical marijuana center. Ben Affleck and Andy Garcia provide star power, but major props must go to singer-turned-actress Alicia Keys.... As if being mentioned as a lust object in a Bob Dylan song weren't enough in 2006, she also manages to own this movie every time her bewigged character appears onscreen.

While many movies combine plot twists and blood, few of them resemble the crimson-tainted pretzel of "Smokin' Aces." Perhaps if you cross "Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead" with "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels," you'll get some idea of what to expect - lots of dead bodies (more than either of the above, and probably more than both combined), an array of insane characters, a great cast, and a monumentally confusing plot. To add to the confusion, the DVD offers alternate endings and plenty of out-takes - enough to keep you busy while waiting for the beer buzz to wear off. B+ Tom Ryan Read more ›