Smokin' Aces

The first movie of the year and its a stonker. The hype is telling me that this is going to be the best film of the year, they always say this in January though. I'm sure there will be better, although not a lot. I really did enjoy this a lot.

A mafia boss is dying and puts a hit on a casino entertainer turned informant a with a one million dollar bounty on his head. The FBI obviously don't want this to happen but find themselves with an assortment of hitmen all congregating on the hotel where he's staying.

What plays out is 90 minutes of explosions, mexican stand-offs, gunfights, tight dialogue, one liners, amusing cameos, and the obligatory twist ending. If you liked Lock Stock then you'll like this as its in a similar style.

Some of the characters are over the top but in a good way, whilst its played to be serious the tongue is pressed into the cheek a little. By far the most amusing character is Warren, a redneck kid with conjunctivitis, thick lenses and a love of the martial arts. He deserves a movie of his own. I really think the script writers are onto something with this character.

As with all ensemble movies no one really dominates the screen. Ryan Reynolds perhaps gets more time but Alicia Keys is better to look at. She does alright for her first foray into acting. Its always good to see Andy Garcia on the big screen, he never does wrong. The same can't be said of Ray Liotta who looks like he's seen better days.

All in all a great start to the movie calendar, and its definitely worth seeing.