No ace in the hole
There is such a thing of too much of a good thing. In "Smokin' Aces," director Joe Carnahan tries to make a movie too cool for its own good, overloading it with big-name actors, characters and their agendas. Movies like "Snatch" have been successful at developing several characters while still having you feel connected to them. But in "Smokin' Aces," the characters are not developed properly, leaving you disconnected to the characters and story. Without any attachment to the characters, you are unsure whom to root for. Even the story's hero, Ryan Reynolds, does not take lead and the most developed characters, the lady hunters Georgia Sykes (Alicia Keys) and Sharice Watters (Taraji Henson), are the least important to the plot.
