Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball

A lot of people argue that it has bad acting and bad CGI but forget that this was a straight to video release. With such a limited budget, the film-crew can only do so much so well. Taking everything into account, this film is nothing but a mediocre sequel that could have gone unnoticed with or without its release. With that said, if you ignore some of the minor flaws, it's actually a decent flick. The acting and CG are NOT bad, they're simply mediocre and can be somewhat forgiving when you take into account the budget. If you can an open mind you will hardly notice anything wrong with the GC, and of course if you go into watching this film you shouldn't expect very much from the acting. What is disappointed, though, is the fact that the premise of the film is simply there to do everything the first film did; and not necessarily better. This film doesn't add or remove anything, it simply plays it VERY safe. The whole assassins after bounty direction is kept intact, and it's VERY unfortunate that most of the assassins share VERY similar characteristics with the previous film's assassins; some even make returns. It's so similar it's actually quite striking. Putting the bad aside, it has the typical over the top'guy-movie' flare that the first film had. It has guns, women, sex, violence, and plenty of blood to go around. Some of the action scenes seem a bit overboard, such as shooting exploding midget clowns out of a cannon, but that's what one can come to expect from a movie with such flare. The action never slows down, and the plot twists keep on rolling back and forth. OVERALL: If you have seen the first movie, you have pretty much seen the second movie. That's not to say you shouldn't watch this film. This film is best enjoyed if you can simply tune out every bit of your brain and simply enjoy the movie. Don't worry about the GC, don't worry about the acting, don't worry about plot-holes, don't worry about what's changed since the first movie, just watch the movie for what it's worth: an over the top sequel to an action flick for guys (and maybe gals too). I gave this movie a 6/10. Nothing special; a bit above mediocre at best, but still enjoyable.

This is only my 2nd response to a movie and I have to say, I disagree with the negative response's. I did not go into this movie to compare it with the original even though I did watch and enjoyed it. Smokin' Aces 2 is everything I would have expected from a movie in this genre, It is fast paced, lots of action,killing,a little skin,and I thought a good plot. Yes, others have said that the plot was weak but, I thought it was good. I thought I had it figured out almost at the beginning but was pleasantly surprised at the end. This movie doesn't have twists all throughout the movie that keep you guessing but, the action makes up for that and you will be surprised in the end. It will probably leave you thinking about it, for awhile anyway. This movie is good fun with some great and humorous scenes. Probably a guys movie as I don't know too many women who are into this genre but I know at least a few who did love it. If you like movies that fall into this genre, you'll love this one. Don't believe the negative response, watch the movie and judge it on it's own merit and not on the original. I think you'll agree.........

The two good words I can say about this movie are Vinnie Jones. He's always great. This story had potential, but it was not well thought out in its execution. As with the first movie, this is a story about a $3 million bounty. The target is a government official. The assassins were not well established as individuals. We see a small glimpse of how each one assassinates, but not as much as the characters in the first movie. We see a safe area set up for the target and watch all of the assassins arrive at the spot, all with $3 million on their minds. This movie did not have the guts or the glory of the first movie. If there had not been Smokin' Aces, I would not have watched this. If you don't have to pay too much to watch it, this movie is worth watching, but I would not buy it.

I really, really liked Smokin Aces, and i was excited to go watch this sequel, featuring my favorite UK actor Vinnie Jones, who always gives violent movies this little extra just be his appearance. As so often with sequels, this one just doesn't cut it - it is nowhere near as well-acted, intense and spectacular as the original. The story features some of the assassins from part 1, but they have been cramped into the plot in an awkward way this time - without giving away too much, it's rather unbelievable. Their methods seem dull after watching part 1, and the addition of the new assassins doesn't make up for that at all. Bad, b-movie style acting and extremely bad CGI (explosions!) take up the remaining 1.5 hours, until the foreseeable-from-minute-1 plot-twist kicks in. Loads of plot holes, bad dialogs and unexplained sudden character-developments makes me rate this 3/10 unfortunately. TLDR: Don't bother, grab it once its out on DVD

This is only my 2nd response to a movie and I have to say, I disagree with the negative response's. I did not go into this movie to compare it with the original even though I did watch and enjoyed it. Smokin' Aces 2 is everything I would have expected from a movie in this genre, It is fast paced, lots of action,killing,a little skin,and I thought a good plot. Yes, others have said that the plot was weak but, I thought it was good. I thought I had it figured out almost at the beginning but was pleasantly surprised at the end. This movie doesn't have twists all throughout the movie that keep you guessing but, the action makes up for that and you will be surprised in the end. It will probably leave you thinking about it, for awhile anyway. This movie is good fun with some great and humorous scenes. Probably a guys movie as I don't know too many women who are into this genre but I know at least a few who did love it. If you like movies that fall into this genre, you'll love this one. Don't believe the negative response, watch the movie and judge it on it's own merit and not on the original. I think you'll agree.........

OK, I won't even compare this movie with the 'original,' as there really is no connection between the two. Well, other than the one assassin and the fact that the FBI is the main government agency involved. So, standing on its own, the best that could be said of 'Smokin' Aces II - Assassins' Ball' is that it is mildly entertaining if you like movies of this genre. By that I mean lots of gunfire, blood, gore and a few hot women. Otherwise, the script is weak, the plot weaker, and the acting...well, it can barely be called acting. By itself, 'Smokin' Aces II' rates four stars at best. You can save yourself some money and wait until it hits the discount bins, you won't be missing anything by doing so. But do pick it up when it gets marked down, especially if you like these kind of brainless shoot-'em-up flicks!

Where shall I start? The first movie was full of nice dialogues, a good plot, nice characters,... All of those things are lost in this movie. Smokin' Aces 2 is just such a crappy direct-to-DVD-release. 'What do you say Sir? A plot?' Indeed, it's like they never even heard of it. I am serious, the acting is horrible, CGI ain't looking good, no plot? I saw it after I was watching Sin City. So you come from great-near-perfect to hmm-what-is-this! The only 2 points I am giving is for the awesome rack that comes into screen. This is by far the worst movie seen in 2010. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but I wished this was a baby never born... Missed chance! 2/10

The two good words I can say about this movie are Vinnie Jones. He's always great. This story had potential, but it was not well thought out in its execution. As with the first movie, this is a story about a $3 million bounty. The target is a government official. The assassins were not well established as individuals. We see a small glimpse of how each one assassinates, but not as much as the characters in the first movie. We see a safe area set up for the target and watch all of the assassins arrive at the spot, all with $3 million on their minds. This movie did not have the guts or the glory of the first movie. If there had not been Smokin' Aces, I would not have watched this. If you don't have to pay too much to watch it, this movie is worth watching, but I would not buy it.

Here is a very brief review of the first movie (or at least what i thought of it) - Brilliant. Plenty of action, developed characters, good story line, nicely paced and well directed and acted. Here is a very brief review of this movie - terrible. Why you ask? Mainly because it has nothing that the original movie had. Admittedly this film doesn't have the budget that the original had, but the way that it falls down could have been solved without further expense. The characters aren't developed in any way. I can't really explain this without adding spoilers, so i won't, but believe me, there is no recognition of ANY of the "new" assassins background or any story behind their assassination "style". Lazlo Soot (a returning character) isn't in any way as likable as in the original. His whole "human face mask" approach was very refreshing in the first film, but tired and used in this attempt. He adds very little in all. As for the Tremors? They just aren't the Tremors. Simple. The action is average at best. Nothing special to report unfortunately. A lot of it just feels very rushed- cops get killed, one or two assassins get killed, more cops get killed. Unfortunately it all happens within 5 minutes, so there isn't even a chance for some of the assassins to even attempt getting to their target. However, the story line does end out with a fairly OK twist, even if it is slightly far fetched. It gives reasoning behind the actions of the assassins and their "contracts". Not anything special though. So it's not all too bad i guess. In a nutshell, I would recommend that you just go watch the first one again. There's a reason as to why this release is straight-to-video. This is only my opinion though, so by all means, give it a try. You might end up liking it more than i did :)

Joe Carnahan's original Smokin' Aces was received with mixed feelings but a very fine piece of entertainment in itself. The original owed a lot to black crime comedies in the style of Guy Ritchie. This sequel/prequel/crapquel is only produced by Carnahan. He passes the directing helm to P.J. Pesce. A quick look at this "director" credit list on IMDb will tell you exactly what to expect. Assassin's Ball is diluted in every way imaginable. First, it is only very loosely connected to the original. One can guess the superb and eclectic cast from the original was probably not easy to secure and so, in an attempt to cash in, they came up with a pitiful excuse of a story which tries to keep the theme of assassins all after the same target. But the story brings nothing new and is in fact inferior. The new characters are dumbed down versions of the old ones and the acting quality is also down from he previous effort. There are sequences in this film that will make you cringe. For instance, a man is shot and the cheap-o blood splatter digital effect goes in an absolutely WRONG, gravity and logic- defying direction. And this single example encapsulates the weak sense of direction on display here. How could the producer, a man who has shot miraculously cool indie flicks and also a masterpiece such as Narc actually OK any of this? Did Carnahan just cash the check and not control the quality here? My other reviews will demonstrate I rarely am emotional about films when I review them but here, I must point out how disappointed I am with Assassin's Ball. Although the original was not greatness on film, it had heart, quality direction and a certain unique quality to it. How can Carnahan, who once was headed to great things after Narc, be reduced to a producer role on such garbage? This once great director saw several of his rumored projects scrapped, given to others or go in limbo. I once felt he would be one of the next great directors and writers of Hollywood but with this offering, I now have serious doubt about Carnahan and he no longer resides on my "must see" list. As for director Pesce, this is without a doubt the last movie from this guy I ever watch. I'm giving it a 3 solely because of the few entertaining bits they sucked from the original.