Directed by:
Joe CarnahanScreenplay:
Joe CarnahanCinematography:
Mauro FioreComposer:
Clint MansellCast:
Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Alex Rocco, Wayne Newton, Jeremy Piven, Ben Affleck, Peter Berg, Martin Henderson, Common, Andy Garcia, Mike Falkow, Alicia Keys (more)VOD (2)
Plots(1)
Lighthearted mob drama follows a Vegas funnyman who turns snitch against some heavyweight mobsters and needs protecting. Buddy 'Sarah Aces' Israel (Jeremy Piven) is a comedic Vegas magician who has informed on an important mobster. The call goes in from the mobster that a million bucks goes to anyone who cuts Buddy's heart out and the FBI intercept the call. Aces is put under the protection of agents Carruthers and Messner (Ray Liotta and Ryan Reynolds) who squirrel the magician away in his own Tahoe retreat. Pretty soon there ain't a hotel room to be had in Tahoe as a parade of hit men, bounty hunters and, generally, a rogues' gallery of miscreants descend, locked in the chase to be the one to off the corrupt conjurer. Aces is soon wishing he could disappear up his own sleeve and the two hapless agents are no way prepared for an onslaught of this level. (Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (8)
On one hand, it's unnecessarily long and drawn out, yet on the other hand, there are excellent acting performances (led by the cool Ben Affleck), great individual scenes, excellent action, and disarming stylization. What is unforgivable, however, is the weak story that is so piecemeal that it is a) impossible to navigate and b) almost completely unengaging. Carnahan has talent but it would be better if he made movies based on screenplays by someone else.
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After a bit of time goes by that is diligently devoted to thinking, and after a second viewing, I finally came to like this film that is Carnahan's baby. It is true that the trailers promised something completely different, but the result is an entertaining stylistic film that is definitely currently above average (let's blame it on clever marketing this time). Mainly thanks to the perfect direction and excellent casting (Ryan Reynolds is great!), this rather disparate whole holds together quite well. Unfortunately, as is still apparent, Carnahan isn’t a great screenwriter (Buddy's existential drama), but he's more than adept as a craftsman (changing one cool camera unit after another, the actual shooting races). He definitely can’t be compared to Guy Ritchie because they are both playing on completely different fields. This film is a much crazier and at times twisted spectacle, which is certainly not boring, but it is true that when a director makes a pure action spectacle, those far beyond the borders of Hollywood will bow down to him.
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Director Carnahan beat screenwriter Carnahan in a short sprint by several lengths. The first two acts are an audiovisual ride with some fresh ideas, in the style of Ritchie's best flicks, but towards the end, the engine of the sports car stutters in such a way that it parks in a garage with a sign saying "Reynolds' Fateful Drama" and slowly dies there. If they had let the sports car go past the finish line and not stepped on the brake, it would have been worth four medals.
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My opinion of this film hasn’t changed even after all those years since I saw it for the first time. Joe Carnahan seemed like a schizophrenic - while a part of him wrote and directed quality action scenes and managed to add a good dose of humor to this crime thriller, the other part added many illogicalities, unnecessary dialogue and an inner struggle of the goody-goody main character. But I must say that the role of a puppet was the best I've seen from Ben Affleck so far.
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Watching the film, I felt like I was on a roller coaster - my sympathies alternated between 4 and 2 stars, meaning that this film is simply inconsistent. It was probably supposed to be a film in the style of Guy Ritchie's crazy gangster films, but it differs from his famous hits in that it doesn't stick to the style - simply put, the script fluctuates between crazy style with insanely cool characters and serious situations. The script is just such a strange mishmash, where a guy shot by automatic weapons, who looks like he'll be lying in the hospital for a few months, stands in front of a hotel with a bandaged hand in a few hours and is clearly inclined to have a stylish chat with his killer. That is exactly what doesn't sit well with me in films of this kind and why I eventually decided on a lower rating. However, the direction is stylishly energetic and quite skillful, which helps overshadow the problematic script. Overall impression: 45%.
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