Though not completely bereft of style, Joe Carnahan’s latest film, Smokin’ Aces, is almost wholly without purpose and substance. And while the movie will certainly have its fans, make no mistake, Smokin’ Aces is not what it could, or should, be.

The plot, full of holes though it may be, is easy enough to understand: a dying mob boss wants to rub out a one-time friend turned snitch and the Feds want to stop the hit from taking place. The price on the snitch, Buddy “Aces” Israel (Jeremy Piven) is so absurdly high for the apparent ease of the contract that hitmen come out of the woodwork in order to attempt to cash in.

In case that’s unclear, don’t worry about it, that’s all explained in the first ten minutes of the film, after which point the plot takes a backseat to the action, such as it is. Carnahan, acting as writer and director of the film, puts all the pieces (hitmen and Feds) in motion in the first two scenes of the movie and then sits back, relaxes, and lets the mayhem unfold. 

The film has a huge cast of recognizable actors: Andy Garcia, Ray Liotta, Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman, Matthew Fox, Jeremy Piven, Ben Affleck, Alicia Keys, Wayne Newton, Nestor Campbell, Joseph Ruskin, Peter Berg, Curtis Armstrong, Alex Rocco, and Common just to name a few (I apologize if I left anyone out). Why are they there? I have no idea. There are no real character arcs, no in-depth performances, and for many of them the appearance is nothing more than an extended cameo. The two main characters in the movie however are Piven’s Israel and Reynolds’s FBI agent, Richard Messner. While both of these people garner a lot of screen time, their story arcs are still virtually nonexistent. 

Israel spends the entire movie (save for one or two flashbacks) strung-out in a hotel suite. He’s nervous as he awaits a call from his agent who is putting together a deal for immunity with the Feds. He cries. He does more drugs. He orders hookers. He yells at his security guards. Then he acts nervous some more. That’s it. 

As for Reynolds, he plays a relatively unintelligent FBI agent. It doesn’t appear as though he’s meant to be unintelligent, perhaps a little green, but not unintelligent. He does come off as a dim bulb though, because he’s continually behind on what’s going on around him. This is far more a function of the inadequacies surrounding the script than his character. At the end of the film, which I will not give away despite the “twist” being completely obvious, it is Reynolds who is expected to carry the emotional weight of the picture. The problem with this is that nothing occurs up to this point that allows the viewer to bond with Agent Messner and so his upset, though apparent because of his tears, means little and has no impact on the viewer. And, as the audience has already figured out what’s going on, there is more bemusement that Reynolds was in the dark so long than understanding at his distress.