# Smokin' Aces
*Smokin' Aces* is a 2007 American action comedy film written and directed by [Joe Carnahan](https://www.edgepedia.org/joe-carnahan), in which Las Vegas magician and small-time crime boss Buddy "Aces" Israel ([Jeremy Piven](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeremy-piven)) agrees to testify against the mob, putting a bounty on his head that draws an assortment of assassins, bounty hunters, and FBI agents to a [Lake Tahoe](https://www.edgepedia.org/lake-tahoe) casino.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/smokin_aces) It was produced by Universal Pictures and Working Title Films and released wide in the United States on January 26, 2007.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/smokin_aces)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writer | Joe Carnahan, his follow-up to *Narc* (2002)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/smokin_aces) • [2](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/smokin-aces-joe-carnahan-interview/) |
| Release | Wide theatrical release January 26, 2007, by Universal Pictures; runtime 1h 49m; rated R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language, some nudity, and drug use[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/smokin_aces) |
| Premise | Mob boss Primo Sparazza puts a contract on informant Buddy "Aces" Israel; two FBI agents must protect him at a Lake Tahoe casino while rival killers converge on the reward[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/smokin_aces) |
| Principal cast | Jeremy Piven, Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, Alicia Keys, Common, and Chris Pine[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/smokin-aces/) |
| Box office | $17,000,000 production budget; $14,638,755 opening weekend; $35,662,731 domestic and $57,263,440 worldwide[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Smokin-Aces) |
| Critical reception | 31% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (157 reviews) with a 62% audience Popcornmeter; Metascore 45 from 32 critic reviews[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/smokin_aces) • [3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/smokin-aces/) |
| Sequel | *Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball*, released without a theatrical run[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/Smokin-Aces) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and setting
Buddy "Aces" Israel is a sleazy Las Vegas entertainer who incurs the wrath of crime boss Primo Sparazza (Joseph Ruskin) when he agrees to turn state's evidence against the Las Vegas mob.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/smokin_aces) • [3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/smokin-aces/) The FBI, sensing a chance to use this small-time con to bring down the bigger target Sparazza, places Aces into protective custody at his Lake Tahoe hideout under two agents, Richard Messner ([Ryan Reynolds](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-reynolds)) and Donald Carruthers ([Ray Liotta](https://www.edgepedia.org/ray-liotta)).[6](https://watch.afi.com/movie/smokin-aces) When word of the price on Aces' head spreads, bounty hunters, hit men, and double-crossing mobsters converge on the Nomad casino to kill him and collect the reward.[6](https://watch.afi.com/movie/smokin-aces) • [7](https://www.sevendaysvt.com/on-screen/smokin-aces-2130725/)
The hunters form a gallery of distinct crews. [Ben Affleck](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-affleck) plays Jack Dupree, a bail bondsman hired to capture Aces alive.[8](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/if-you-loved-ben-affleck-the-rip-check-out-first-collab-with-the-director) The Tremor brothers are a neo-Nazi band of skinheads played by Maury Sterling, Chris Pine, and [Kevin Durand](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-durand).[9](https://archives.csusm.edu/student-newspapers/files/original/1281fbf82b82dea57f7437ea5ca0db61.pdf) Alicia Keys and [Taraji P. Henson](https://www.edgepedia.org/taraji-p-henson) play Georgia Sykes and Sharice Watters, a pair of armed women working the contract, and Common plays Sir Ivy.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/smokin-aces/) The film builds toward a climactic shootout Carnahan called "Doomsday on the Penthouse Level," staged in the top-floor lobby of the casino hotel.[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-14-ca-smokin14-story.html)
## Production
**Origins.** Carnahan wrote the first seeds of the story in 1993 while still in college, fascinated by rumors of [Frank Sinatra](https://www.edgepedia.org/frank-sinatra)'s ties to the mob; he asked himself what would happen if Sinatra had decided to use his power as an entertainer to become a mob boss, and built Piven's character, a hybrid Vegas-style magician-comedian, from that premise.[2](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/smokin-aces-joe-carnahan-interview/) After *Narc* premiered at the 2002 [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival), he sold the first 30 pages of the script to Working Title, which stuck with him through his subsequent studio commitments.[2](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/smokin-aces-joe-carnahan-interview/) • [11](https://www.sactownmag.com/the-wild-card-joe-carnahan/)
**Shooting.** [Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) began in November 2005 on location in Lake Tahoe and Los Angeles, with Working Title's Tim Bevan and [Eric Fellner](https://www.edgepedia.org/eric-fellner) producing alongside Robert Graf and Liza Chasin.[12](https://www.screendaily.com/carnahan-starts-shooting-smokin-aces/4025152.article) The penthouse sequence required a team of special-effects specialists to light a man on fire, blow up seven others, choreograph a gun battle with 20 shooters, discharge 400 special-effects squibs, and shatter a panoramic hotel window, all within minutes of screen time.[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-14-ca-smokin14-story.html) Carnahan said he wanted each sequence to reflect its individual characters and gave Piven room to improvise lines.[13](https://www.chud.com/8184/smokin-joe-carnahan-answers-your-questions-part-2/) • [14](https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Smokin-aces-a-crash-course-in-filmmaking-2622375.php)
## Reception
Critics rated the film poorly. Rotten Tomatoes recorded 31% on the Tomatometer from 157 reviews, against a 62% audience score from more than 250,000 ratings; its critics consensus calls the film "a violent mess" with "some Quentin Tarantino's style but not much of his wit or humor."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/smokin_aces) Metacritic scored it 45 out of 100 from 32 reviews, categorized as mixed or average, while its user score stood at 6.3 from 83 ratings.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/smokin-aces/) Common criticisms targeted the convoluted plot and the lack of a character to root for; Claudia Puig of *USA Today* called it "a convoluted, slap-happy, humorless bloodfest," and Brian Tallerico of UGO wrote that the film's biggest problem was "the complete lack of anyone to root for or even against."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/smokin_aces) Positive notices included Peter Travers of *Rolling Stone*, who called it "shamelessly and unapologetically a guy movie," and the *Baltimore Sun*'s Chris Kaltenbach, who found the ride enjoyable enough that the tangled plot hardly mattered.[3](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/smokin-aces/)
**Box office.** The film opened in 2,218 theaters with $14,638,755, 41.0% of its eventual total, and finished with $35,662,731 domestically and $57,263,440 worldwide against a $17,000,000 production budget, about 3.4 times the budget.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Smokin-Aces) Estimated domestic DVD sales of $36,541,855 exceeded the film's theatrical gross.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Smokin-Aces)
## Legacy
A direct-to-video sequel, *Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball*, followed with no recorded theatrical release.[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/Smokin-Aces) The original film has since drawn reappraisal from audiences; retrospective commentary has described it as a cult favorite whose reputation contrasts with its poor initial reviews, and Carnahan and Affleck later reunited on the Netflix crime thriller *The Rip*, which reviewers compared to their earlier collaboration.[15](https://comicbook.com/movies/feature/20-years-on-ben-afflecks-critically-hated-crime-thriller-is-aging-like-fine-wine/) • [8](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/if-you-loved-ben-affleck-the-rip-check-out-first-collab-with-the-director)
## References
1. [Smokin' Aces, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/smokin_aces)
2. [Smokin' Aces – Joe Carnahan interview, IndieLondon](https://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/smokin-aces-joe-carnahan-interview/)
3. [Smokin' Aces Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/smokin-aces/)
4. [Smokin' Aces (2007) – Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Smokin-Aces)
5. [Smokin Aces Franchise Box Office History, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/Smokin-Aces)
6. [Smokin' Aces, American Film Institute](https://watch.afi.com/movie/smokin-aces)
7. [Smokin' Aces, Seven Days](https://www.sevendaysvt.com/on-screen/smokin-aces-2130725/)
8. [If You Loved Ben Affleck In The Rip, You Need To Check Out His First Collab With The Director, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/if-you-loved-ben-affleck-the-rip-check-out-first-collab-with-the-director)
9. [Movie review: 'Smokin' Aces' hits the mark, CSUSM student newspaper (February 6, 2007)](https://archives.csusm.edu/student-newspapers/files/original/1281fbf82b82dea57f7437ea5ca0db61.pdf)
10. [The fine art of making a room go boom, Los Angeles Times (January 14, 2007)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-14-ca-smokin14-story.html)
11. [The Wild Card – Hollywood Director Joe Carnahan, Sactown Magazine](https://www.sactownmag.com/the-wild-card-joe-carnahan/)
12. [Carnahan Starts Shooting Smokin' Aces, Screen Daily (November 10, 2005)](https://www.screendaily.com/carnahan-starts-shooting-smokin-aces/4025152.article)
13. [Smokin' Joe Carnahan Answers Your Questions! Part 2, CHUD.com](https://www.chud.com/8184/smokin-joe-carnahan-answers-your-questions-part-2/)
14. ['Smokin' aces': a crash course in filmmaking, San Francisco Chronicle](https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Smokin-aces-a-crash-course-in-filmmaking-2622375.php)
15. [20 Years On, Ben Affleck's Critically Hated Crime Thriller Is Aging Like Fine Wine, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/movies/feature/20-years-on-ben-afflecks-critically-hated-crime-thriller-is-aging-like-fine-wine/)
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