Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball (2010)

Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball is not the worst movie there is, although i allege the people affiliated with making it of trying very hard. It though is the worst movie I have personally managed to watch completely (I saw it with a good friend and after the first minutes we made something like a bearing contest out of it) and no, I couldn't endure more than a few minutes of Vercingétorix, so yes it might be worse, but that is not the point. Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball is just a very, very poorly made movie and I can't explain why there are people recommending or defending it or rating it with more than minimal one out of ten. Now that I have written all of this I'm hesitating, since I'm not sure if it will advance the films fast and eternal oblivion. But since I made the effort...

In Smokin' Aces II, various professional killers are offered 3 million to kill some wheelchair-bound midlevel FBI analyst by 3 am. The FBI finds out about the plot and mounts an operation to transport him and keep him safe in an underground bunker. For some reason this bunker is in a not so good neighborhood, under a Jazz club. The FBI stations agents in a motel across the street, 2 snipers on a roof, and an agent at the front door disguised as a panhandler. The owner of the club and trumpet player of the band is also an FBI agent.Going after the money are assorted brilliant killers- a hot Latin chick, a family of rednecks, a master of disguise and a meticulous Vinnie Jones character. They all converge on the club and massive firefights and explosions erupt. Every killer has his own strategy. Vinnie and the chick pretend to be patrons at the bar, the master of disguise already has taken on the persona of one of the FBI agents. And the rednecks show up later for the party with their own brand of violence.Meanwhile the agent in charge Baker with a team of females try to research who is behind this and why. He also talks to the potential victim at length to find out why he is being targeted. The victim, who is good at card tricks has no idea why he was chosen. But Baker's team finds out that the villain who has hired the killers is called Hal Leuco. He was involved somehow in something called Operation True Patriot which in turn had something to do with various attacks against the West as a response, blowback, for brutal operation perpetrated by the West in the Middle East.The resolution of all this will turn out to be not just interesting story-wise but also lots of fun to see. In particular the Tremor family is colorful, has some original ways of doing mayhem and we learn most about them as well. A bit, but not enough, is told about the other killers.One problem with the movie is the setting in the bunker at night. In that regard part I was better because it had bigger and better settings during the day, had more light and color. Stuff going on in bunkers for hours isn't visually all that interesting. Autumn Reeser is very watchable though.Overall, an action movie that's a lot of fun to see and with a smart story.

Well we all know the whole concept of straight-to-video or indeed now straight-to-DVD. Most of the time its reserved for the more low budget films that didn't make the cut for theatre release. I basically watched this on Sky+, basically I recorded it and I gave it a shot. It paid off really, not much thinking needed really. You know the players, you know the plot and you know the target.If you've seen the original big budget release Smokin' Aces back in 2006 then you know what to expect, over the top action and big explosions. Indeed you get this with Smokin' Aces 2 but in a smaller dose, which isn't a bad thing as to me the original was sometimes too over the top action wise and you felt like you didn't get a breather to re-focus your eyes.In Smokin' Aces 2 you've got some wiggle room, you don't feel its as rushed even as the build up to the climax is quite enjoyable really and funny also. A good cast, especially Tommy Flanagan who did some good action sequences and of course Tom Berenger who all shine out in this film. Overall: The Good: Good acting, not great but watchable, good action sequences, not too rushed, some good dialogue moments between charactersThe Bad:Too shortIts a good film, really its about just blocking out your perceptions of it prior to watching it, and having an unbiased view of it.

Having had this recommended to me by a friend, and having seen the first one, I was quite hopeful when I put the disc into the DVD player. Unfortunately, 84 minutes later I was looking for my friends' number to tell him never to recommend a film to me again! I think you can guess I was not impressed with what I saw.Walter Weed an ageing government analyst has had a hit put out on him. Several assassins have been invited to try and kill him on a specific date and at a very specific time. The FBI reacts quickly and moves him into a secure location in a bunker under a Jazz club in Chicago. The assassins, however, seem to have been appraised of his location and move in for the kill. It's every man, and woman, for himself and so there is no team play as they move in for the kill. With time running out, will any of them make it to the prize and collect the three million dollars on offer? I'll leave my short summary here.Apart from Tom Berenger as Walter Weed, none of the rest of the cast put in a decent performance. Maybe not entirely their fault because the script didn't really give them much to play with. The plot, as an idea, was quite clever, but if it had been made as a spy thriller instead of a stupid gun-fest I suspect it would have worked a lot better. I feel sorry that Tom Berenger has had to stoop so low, he deserves better material than this. Over all, really not recommended.My score: 5.1/10