Before anybody says anything let me say first that it gets five stars because I love it. But this is a review, which is supposed to be for the benefit of others, not like a personal rant. The review, thus, is here:

Smokin' Aces is a...
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Before anybody says anything let me say first that it gets five stars because I love it. But this is a review, which is supposed to be for the benefit of others, not like a personal rant. The review, thus, is here:

Smokin' Aces is a movie that builds up a whole load of anticipation. From the very beginning we are treated to the gimmick that there is only one mafia Don left, Primo Sparazza, who is dying of illness. Before he dies, he wants the heart of his hated rival, Buddy "Aces" Israel. For the hit, he puts out one million dollars in cash. Naturally, all kinds of hitmen(and women-hit'people'?) gather to be the first to kill Buddy Israel and carve his heart out.

Nice premise, right? Makes you wonder what'd happen if, let's say, the bail bondsman meets up with the torture artist. Or, if the two FBI agents meet up with the Neo-Nazi brothers. Will they fight? Will they team up? Will there be double-crosses and other murders? The build is just electric, not only because of the premise I mentioned before, but also because these are different kinds of hitmen out for the hit, thus opening the door to a world of possibilities in character development. It had me at the edge of my seat.

But it failed to deliver. Maybe it's the short duration, but there's so much that could've happened that time. So much I was expecting, and while what I got wasn't exactly bad, it wasn't exactly good either. The character development here suffers the worst. Some of them barely do anything, though we are treated to glimpses of their personalities, this barely skims the surface. And there was no hitman-vs-hitman face-off, much to my chagrin. I enjoyed it, check the stars I gave it, but my advice...just be warned, alright? You might like it, and you might not.