Why does flashy editing make a movie bad? Because it’s irritating and meaningless. You rarely achieve anything with it. And when you don’t, the only explanation for it is that you’re trying hide the films weaknesses. That sums up the first 70 minutes of Smokin Aces. One hour worth of character introductions (which is funny considering they’re all extreme caricatures). That’s all there is. Some might find that a bit boring so hey, lets apply some editing techniques. Or maybe Carnahan was trying to achieve something else (the essence Vegas came to my mind a few times) but without much success. The lack of originality* in execution and poorly written dialogue doesn’t help. But it’s still not all bad. The actors are obviously enjoying themselves which is a lot of fun to watch and the characters are mostly good even if �a little� one dimentional. And what follows is 40 minutes of A-grade stuff, or at least almost. Good old no holds barred movie violence that I didn’t think would get past MPAA. Jeremy Piven’s acting is quite excellent and the ending is ridiculous enough to be satisfying. Good stuff.
3/5
- not stealing from Tarantino, Ritchie or Scott… I’ve seen this kind of execution and visual style so many times that it’s ridiculous to claim it originates from a single, or a even from a handful of movies/directors.