An FBI agent (Reynolds) hunts for a Las Vegas stand up comedian (Piven) who has decided to squeal on the mob but, before he heads off for protective custody, decides to go to the casinos at Lake Tahoe for one last good time, drawing a crowd of assassins (including Affleck and Keys).

This past weekend projectors in theaters around the United States began flickering a new action flick called SMOKIN' ACES directed by JOE CARNAHAN (NARC) and starring a rather large cast of well known celebrities such as JEREMY PIVEN, BEN AFFLECK, RYAN REYNOLDS, RAY LIOTTA, ANDY GARCIA, COMMON and ALICIA KEYS.  Now of course with such a huge cast of talent and with taglines like "they are going to dump boxes of bullets into this guy!” I for one was not going to miss the chance to check out this film projected on a big-ass piece of mylar!

Anyways to wrap up the most apparent part of this film first, or in other words the plot.  SMOKIN' ACES revolves around a Vegas entertainer BUDDY ISRAEL (JEREMY PIVEN) who through out his career as an illusionist in sin city, worked his way up maphia's chain, until things begin to go for the worse and BUDDY decides to turn informer (a-lickie-boom-down... sorry, I had to!)   This of course upsets the one of the last remaining mob bosses PRIMO SPARAZZA who puts a million dollar bounty out to anyone who brings him BUDDY ISRAELs' heart.  Of course once the FBI get wind of the hit they know their time is limited to get BUDDY out of the protective custody hidden away in a Lake Tahoe hotel suite and into court room.

With the stage set we then begin to be introduced to a plethora of hitmen, hitwomen, bounty hunters and straight out psychopaths as the word of the million dollar bounty begins to filter through the underworld.  Amongst these memorable characters are JACK DUPREE (BEN AFFLECK) a less than excitable bounty hunter who is traveling with two ex-cops to bring in BUDDY ISRAEL on a trivial legality.  The "are they lesbian assassins and if so can I watch?" duo of SHARICE WATTERS (TARAJI P. HENSON) and GEORGIA SYKES (ALICIA KEYS).  Not to mention my personal favorites the white trash TREMOR BROS. who aren't the sharpest tools in the shed but what they lack in intelligence they make up for in insanity.

SMOKIN' ACES is a slow building film, but of course with any film with as many characters as this, if it didn't build slowly there would be mucho plot holes.  But once it gets going (and the hitmen finally find where BUDDY is hiding) the film takes off and doesn't let up until credits begin to role at the end.  With plenty of guns, bullets, knives, chainsaws and syringes to make even the most hardened people squeamish, SMOKIN' ACES definitely has what most heterosexual males look for in an action film.... which is... well... uhm.... ACTION!!!!

SMOKIN' ACES shines the brightest though in some of its newer stars such as hip-hop artist COMMON who does a superb job as the disgruntled bodyguard to BUDDY ISRAEL, named SIR IVY.  Another surprising performance comes from relative new comer CHRIS PINE as the seemingly most intelligent of the TREMOR BROS., DARWIN, who had the theater I was in rolling on the floor with his AFFLECK puppet scene (if you saw the film you would know what I am talking about).  Last but not least in this guys opinion was the performance as the ADHD raddled WARREN played by the 15 year old ZACH CUMER which if UNIVERSAL is smart they will take his character and use it as the basis for a new sitcom (seriously that shit would be TIGHT!!!)