Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

I had very high expectations for this. The sad part is, is that I can count numerous reasons why this movie passes with flying colors. The intensity, the raw energy, the action sequences...all spot on! Choreography was awesome! Acting was solid. I can go on and on about all the good stuff, however, when it comes to the "story line" for this mess, it bogs it all down. ALL DOWN! And that's sad. Why does the story have to suffer? Well. I think the film makers thought they could make a great movie by over stuffing the hell out of it with a lot of heart pounding action, and who cares about the story, right? If that philosophy were true, Showgirls would have been the greatest movie on earth, now wouldn't it have been. Sadly, we have to turn into reality, and put the fantasy thoughts on the back burner. Sure, this was a successful film for its genre. It doesn't excuse the fact that it was a mad, twisted mess for a film. Buddy has managed to piss off the mob boss for turning in evidence to the state. In response to this, the boss has set out several hit men to erase Buddy off all maps once and for all. Several hit men. Several! Even hit women. There's only one reward. These hit men are not going to be in any mood to share it. Will they turn against each other? I think you know the answer to that. With that, we set up 90 percent of what Smokin Aces is all about...a whole lot of action, boiling down to a whole lot of nothing. These hitmen are ruthless. Cold hearted. Stone cold, cold hearted. And how will it all end? You'll have to watch to find out, some may be let down by how it all ends. I think it's anything but predictable. Do I recommend it? I do not. Even though most may be entertained by it, I do not think this is anything to write home about. Bottom line: Smokin Aces is just too much smoke, and not enough ace!

This film tells the story of a magician who is put under witness protection because he is going to be a witness against big time mafia bosses. A big hunt for the magician by many bounty hunters begin, and the authorities have a hard time keeping the magician safe.There are so many characters in the story, that it takes thirty minutes to even introduce all of them! I find the story a bit confusing as a result, sometimes I don't know who is who. The pace is fast, and is filled with action packed scenes. There are so many gory scenes, some of which are very disturbing, while some of them are so maniacal that they become funny. Overall, I'm still quite shaken by the scale of the battles, it seems that everyone has to die!

Geez, nearly 500 reviews... Well, I will try to be considerate and not waste your time with a lot of repetition then :)Suffice to say that the movie is absolutely fun and entertaining. After reading some reviews, I was hesitant to watch it because I got the impression that it was going to be just a vulgar and violent film for the sake of being vulgar and violent. BUT... I am VERY glad that I watched it. It was a frigg'n BLAST!In reading some of the other reviews here, I agree with most of the ones that really liked it. But, I don't feel that they quite have it right. Even though some have rated it very highly, like an 8-10, some of the accompanying comments I feel are not quite fully accurate.I will try to explain what I mean. For example, a couple of people do say how totally fun it is, but they also say something to the effect of, 'If you want a 'Deep' film, then forget it. Just 'Turn your mind off' and enjoy it'... Uh, NO... I absolutely do NOT agree with that part. YES, there is a HELL of a lot of wild, violent action. But, the difference, at least to me anyway, is that it is most certainly NOT mindless or dumb. Nothing of the sort... Just putting together the EXTREMELY complex plot, characters, timing, meshing of concurrent activities, just to name a few things, this film keeps a hell of a LOT in the air at the same time and I feel that it does it bloody masterfully!And Funny... DAMN is this movie funny. But, not in the same sense as Guy Ritchie's films, which I TOTALLY love, btw. It does have similar clever, funny moments, but Guy's films rely a LOT on the cleverness of the dialog, whereas in this case, the director (frigg'n BRILLIANT as he is) does not so much. There ARE some clever dialog moments, but the director's forte here with this movie is more with the visual elements, the outlandish characters, stunning creativity, and the absolutely BEAUTIFUL way he ties and blends them all together. Whereas Guy's films have much more of a deadpan, and VERY UK flavoured humour that fills the dialog. You could say that Tarantino does much of the same thing in his own way, with his characters heavily layered and dialog driven. But, in this case, it is more the total creative inventiveness of the IDEAS that Joe Carnahan comes up with how cleverly he puts them together.This guy ***REALLY*** entertains...There is depth here, but it is not 'Deep' in the usual way you see in movies. The maniacally complex plot and the way it is constructed alone gives this movie a profound depth that you do NOT normally see in 'Action' films. The characters in and of themselves are not nearly as deep or developed as Guy Ritchie's wonderfully written characters. But, in a much broader way, just the sheer BALLS of this guy and what he tries to do and actually accomplishes, is what blows you away. Without saying too much, there is this one scene with a completely over the top hyperactive boy and his Mom that was SO damn funny, I just about p*$$ed myself I was laughing so hard.If you end up liking the film, I also HIGHLY recommend listening to the commentary after watching the movie. I have probably heard literally hundreds of commentaries, but this is honestly one of THE most genuine, honest, self-deprecating, and PHUK'N HILARIOUS commentaries that I have heard in a very long time. The guy is stink'n FUNNY! But, at the same time he is not an arrogant D0VCHEbag; heh, once he even actually calls HIMSELF one because he had spontaneously used a French expression that is used for films; then he immediately said that he was being a pretentious D0VCHEbag. Also, the commentary is TOTALLY jammed with truly fascinating details about the shooting, dealing with changes, and especially the HUGELY complex editing of the film. It was honestly one of the most riveting and entertaining commentaries that I've heard.BTW... did I mention that these guys were FUNNY...?Anyway, my humble apologies for talking so much about the commentary, but it truly does help you appreciate what went into the film and SO much more.Bottom line... A DYNAMITE film that is so outrageous, creative, hilarious, and completely mind-blowing, that if you like those kinds of movies, you will frigg'n LOVE this one...(P.S: Keep an eye out for 'Boner Boy'...)

Overall, this movie wasn't very enjoyable. It felt like the directors never knew what to make of it. Is it a shoot em up, a comedy, a drama, a series of criminal events with a twist; it never could maintain a theme. Additionally there were too many characters and subplots. For all they had going on, you need a slower better paced movie, but this one was trying to be flashy and stylish too. There were a lot of interesting characters, but we never got to know them that well. Jeremy Piven's seemed like it could have been good with a little humor added they never took him that way. Overall, lots of good pieces, lots of interesting characters, lots of potential, but this movie tried to be a little bit of everything and ended up not being much of anything.