Movie Reviews

Review in a Hurry:  Lots of action and hipster-cool 'tude can't save this multicharacter mobster movie from dissolving into a bloody ridiculous mess. 

The Bigger Picture:  What the heck were they smokin'? Yeah, Aces has a competent cast and half-decent premise, but this uneven gangster pic plays like regurgitated Tarantino—without the chunks of wit and originality.

Jeremy Piven—doing yet another variation of his Ari Gold act—stars as an arrogant, hotheaded Vegas magician who's gonna testify against his Mafia buds. So mob boss Joseph Ruskin puts a bounty on his head—a million bucks to remove Piven's heart.

FBI agents Ray Liotta and Ryan Reynolds try to protect their witness, but a slew of assassins put Piven in their crosshairs. Motley mercenaries include a master of disguise, a notorious torturer, wacko neo-Nazi dudes and a pair of tough-talkin' ghetto-chic hit ladies. The killers converge in Lake Tahoe, where Piven is holed up in a hotel penthouse with homies, hos, and blow.

Bail bondsman Ben Affleck—in sleepy-eyed sleaze mode—shows up to give us a bunch of backstory and exposition. And there's a lot of explanation in the setup, as well as characters introduced with title cards. A tired device.

Unable to keep his storylines under control, writer-director Joe Carnahan throws everything at the screen to see what'll stick. Little does, as the tone shifts wildly, gags fall flat, and characters are played way over the top. And just when you think the splatterific orgy of shooting, stabbing, and chainsawing marks the end of this opus, there's even more plot explanation.

Stinkin' Aces misses the mark and fatally shoots itself—right in the foot.

The 180—a Second Opinion:  If you really gotta love this movie, maybe you'll find some joy in (a) half-naked hookers passed out in a penthouse, (b) Piven showing off his chiseled torso while doing nifty card tricks or (c) boozy lawyer Jason Bateman revealing a penchant for wearing women's underwear.

• MORE REVIEWS: We see it all.

• BIG FLICKS 2007: Peek ahead at the whole year.