Smokin' Aces is a lot more complex that the previews would have you believe. According to the script Primo Sparazza (Played by long time character actor Joseph Ruskin.) is the last significant Mafia Don. The FBI has got him covered like a blanket. Buddy 'Aces' Israel, a Vegas cross between David Copperfield and Don Rickles in need of an exorcism, is the FBI's not so secret weapon snitch.

One day Aces slips out from under the FBI's thumb and hides out in a not very secret place. Now Primo, and everybody else with a vested interest, hires hitmen or hit women to do in Buddy Israel while the FBI tries to get there first. Soon bodies start falling faster than bugs in a Raid commercial.

While the hitmen maneuver, the audience learns that case files related to Primo contain some very unusual secrets. A lot of movie goers will be confused by this. Conspiracy theorists and lifelong readers of mystery novels will have the that "surprise" figured out long before the end.

Smokin' Aces features well known actors like Ray Liotta, Andy Garcia, and Jason Bateman in medium sized parts of the ensemble cast. The rapper known as Common proves his acting ability as Buddy's entourage leader.

Will you enjoy Smokin' Aces? That depends on your acceptance of the following: several pages worth of four letter words; huge bloody body counts; and nudity that is nothing more than set decoration. That's a call you will have to make for yourself.

By Erwin K. Roberts