Smokin' Aces (Blu-ray)

Smokin’ Aces is a slick, stylish dose of adrenaline-charged high octane silliness, with a great cast, all og whome seem to be having a lot of fun. Revelling in its own cool, it’s a flick that could have been a million times more successful had a ton of other similar movies not cropped up since Lock, Stock grabbed the world by the short and curlies. With Smokin’ Aces being little more than the sum of its parts in terms of substance, it remains a nice looking movie that’s pretty much ideal if you’re looking for something to sack out on the sofa to.

As Primo Sparazza, the head of the Las Vegas mob, is lying on his deathbed, the FBI closes in when they spot an opportunity to put the final nail in the coffin of La Cosa Nostra. With Buddy ‘Aces’ Israel ready to blab on every Mafioso in America as soon as the don bites the big one, it’s only a matter of time for the feds. Unfortunately things get hairy as Sparazza sticks a million-dollar price tag on Buddy’s head and, in doing so, causes every man and his dog to try to put Israel six feet under.

So essentially Smokin’ Aces is pretty much what you’d get if you made a live action Wacky Races movie and gave the cast guns. Big, massive, powerful guns. Unsurprisingly then, it’s 100 minutes of non-stop nonsensical, gung-ho mayhem and nothing more. The good thing is that it appears director Joe Carnahan never intended it to be anything more. As such, if you’re willing to just embrace the jaw-dropping absurdity, you’re more than likely in for a good time.

Being a bullet-paced actioner with an insanely broad colour palette (thanks to the Lake Tahoe setting), you’d hope that the Blu-ray would be a looker. Thankfully, it delivers in droves as the fast movement is delivered with nary a blur, while the saturated, sun-drenched cityscape is as stark, bright and colourful as a sunny morning in the grasp of a hangover. It’s pretty much bang on.

Similarly the audio track is clean, ballsy and makes sufficient use of the front speakers in particular. The only problem is in the content itself, as when your ears aren’t getting a hammering from the aforementioned action, the characters tend to speak in tones that are a bit too low compared to the rest of the film.

The extras on board aren’t much to shout about but they’re nevertheless pretty good. You get a handful of footage from the cutting room floor, including an alternate ending, as well as outtakes and a trio of featurettes that focus on the effects of the film and its stellar ensemble cast. Finally, it’s rounded off with a yak-track from the director himself and editor Robert Frazen. It makes for a decent heap of bonus material that’s of a quality that’s appropriate for a film of this calibre. The overall result is a pretty decent disc that’s worth snagging if you see it nice and cheap.

Overall Verdict: A slick looking transfer that does ample justice to such a brazenly stylish film. With the sequel currently doing the rounds, there’s no better time to revisit Smokin’ Aces if you’re a huge fan.

Special Features:
Commentary with writer/director Joe Carnahan & editor Robert Frazen
‘Shoot 'Em Up: Stunts and Effects’ Featurette
‘The Big Gun’ Featurette
‘The Line-Up’ Featurette
Outtakes
Alternate Cowboy Ending
Deleted and Extended scenes

Reviewer: Jordan Brown