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Senin, 30 Agustus 2010

SMOKIN ACES 2

So says Joe Carnahan, director of the first film. I agree with him, the original Smokin’ Aces is an enjoyable romp that while not life changing in any sense of the word, deserves to be fully appreciated. Its cast of zany, off-the-wall characters and double crossings made for a fun piece of escapism. The story, for any of you that don’t know or don’t remember, consisted of a Las Vegas performer named Buddy Israel who decides to testify against the mob. This sets in motion a chain of events that has a $1million bounty on Buddy’s head and sparks the interest of every low life assassin, femme fatale and mobster in the vicinity.

Even though the critics weren’t very kind to Carnahan’s flick, it enjoyed enough success over the course of its theatrical release and subsequent DVD release for Universal to greenlight an expansion to the story. So here we are. Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassins Ball is upon us and it is skipping the big screen and heading straight for a DVD release.

It’s not hard to see why it has gone straight to DVD. Joe Carnahan himself might be producing but if there is anything that can fill a film fans heart with dread it has to be the inclusion of Vinnie Jones. Add this to the fact that P.J.Pesce is directing and anyone will be forgiven for running miles away. I mean this is the guy that gave the world The Lost Boys 2!

img2So it comes as quite a surprise to learn that Smokin’ Aces 2 isn’t entirely that bad at all. The first thing that has to be said here is that we are in prequel territory. What made the first one enjoyable was its mental assortment of characters. Unfortunately with 90% of the cast biting the bullet the only logical solution was to set the film before the original, thus allowing for the more popular assassins to return. Case in point, the very funny Tremor family, a sadistic group of white trash rednecks that love massive firearms.

The prequel tells the story of Walter Weed, a low level FBI agent that becomes the target of an assassination plot. A group of FBI agents have to protect him from an entire group of crazed killers all out to claim the bounty on Weed’s head.

Tom Berenger might not be enjoying the best of times regarding his career right now but he clearly enjoys himself as Walter Weed here. It’s a good performance from an actor we haven’t seen reach the heights he once had with the likes of Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July. His upcoming role in Christopher Nolan’s Inception will hopefully come packaged with a career revival.

To say that Berenger is the best of the bunch however is not saying much at all. The rest of the cast is mostly made up of unknowns with the only semi-famous names being Michael Parks, Tommy Flanagan and of course, Vinnie Jones.

img3P.J Pesce obviously tries to inject some style into proceedings. Carnahan populated the original with a distinct visual flare but with a lower budget this prequel just can’t compete. It also seems to me that Pesce is deliberately trying to replicate Oliver Stone by using fast cutting and tricky camerawork. One scene especially has major echoes of Natural Born Killers with the Tremor family driving their truck while random images appear behind them. Quite why Pesce wants to be Oliver Stone-lite is anybody’s guess.

Major problems arise when we are treated to scenes of the FBI agents acting like kids. They fight and bicker and some of the things they say are completely ridiculous. Aren’t these supposed to be professional agents sworn to protect a target?

Yes, the acting is sub par apart from Berenger, the dialogue has a lot to be desired for and low production values make the whole thing look decidedly cheap. However there happen to be moments of pure hilarity that just manage to sustain attention throughout. Only the most cynical of movie snobs wouldn’t laugh at exploding circus midgets being shot into a jazz club via a cannon, and watching Vinnie Jones tackle an obese hillbilly before being riddled with bullets is bloody funny.

The most surprising aspect of this whole thing stems from the fact that it actually has a very intelligent, political anti-American message। It kept me entertained for 88mins and surely that’s the least anyone can expect from a direct to DVD prequel.