SMOKIN’ ACES 2: ASSASSINS’ BALL
Rating:2.5 out of 4 /Buy the DVD Here
Tagline: Prepare for Murder, Mayhem & Madness
Directed by: P.J. Pesce
Starring: Tom Berenger, Vinnie Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Clayne Crawford, and Autumn Reeser.
THE PLAN: Walter Weed (Tom Berenger) is a veteran FBI employee who finds his life suddenly in peril when it’s discovered separate teams of assassins have been hired to kill him. Placed in an underground bunker under the watchful eye of Agent Baker (Clayne Crawford), Weed must consider why he’s the target of these evil killers before one of them figures out a way in.
THE KILL: Going into SMOKIN’ ACES 2 was a bit of a curious experience for me. After all, it was SMOKIN’ ACES 2… Why did this movie exist? What could its story possibly be? Was the first one really good enough (or successful enough) to warrant a follow-up? Would Autumn Reeser take her top off? So many questions…
Now, having seen the flick, I have the answers. For starters, it’s a prequel, with a few minor characters from the first one showing up. (No, they didn’t manage to lure Ryan Reynolds or Alicia Keys back.) Its story – at least structurally – is fairly similar, as we meet a bevy of deranged, clever, and lethal assassins intent all intent on killing the same person, in this case an unassuming, meek FBI flunky named Weed. Its visuals are slick and sometimes faux-grungy, with some hectic editing thrown in to make things seem a little more chaotic than they really are. Don’t get me wrong – many bullets fly, blood is shed plentifully, and things get loud, early and often. It’s all sound and fury, signifying nothing, but it’s got enough energy to keep your eyes on the screen.
Autumn resisting my advances once again…
For a straight-to-DVD product, it’s a fairly well made movie; never wearing its (presumably) lower budget on its sleeve. The cast, while not as impressive as the first film’s, is more than adequate. Tom Berenger’s been off the map for what seems like too long, but its good to see the man back in the game. His Walter is something of a sad-sack, but Berenger gives him a hint of dignity and even danger, which makes him a more intriguing character than he could be. Vinnie Jones does his Vinnie Jones thing, which works fine here. Reeser (who does get naked; see video) goes pretty far over-the-top as one of four mentally unhinged members of the Tremor family, a bizarre group also consisting of father Fritz (played by the B-movie favorite Michael Parks), and brothers Lester (Maury Sterling, who is in the first film as well) and “Baby Boy” (C. Ernst Harth), who has the mental capacity of a five-year-old. Tommy Flanagan is back as the chameleon-like Lazlo Soot, who is able to disguise himself with latex faces made from the visage’s of others. You can’t say a whole lot about his performance since, technically, another actor is “playing” the character… Still, he’s got a face for the movies, alright, and can slash a mean throat.
Overall, I think this movie is best suited for people who really like the first film (there must be a lot of you, right?) as it’s basically a smaller version of that flick. It never reaches the dizzying heights of morbid violence as Joe Carnahan’s film, but it tries, as there’s a couple of acceptably gory moments. (I mean, check out that poor dude’s head!) Does it do the job that a movie called SMOKIN’ ACES 2 should? I suppose it does, as much as you could hope for. Question is, do you really care?
All I can say is, sucks to be you, dude…
TOP DEATH: Ever seen a midget clown with a bomb strapped to him blown out of a canon? I hadn’t before, but I have now.
TOP ACTION: There’s the obligatory Mexican stand-off sequence where everyone’s in the same room shooting at each other, which is always sort of fun… if you can tell what’s going on.
FEMALE EXPLOITATION: The flick has not one but two seriously smokin’ babes in Martha Higareda and Autumn Reeser, both of whom prefer to wear skimpy clothing when they’re kicking ass. Although sometimes they’re doing much worse things. (See video for an example.)
What a way to go!
HOMOEROTIC MOMENT: Nothing really to speak of here, but if you have a weird Vinnie Jones fetish I suppose you’ll be in heaven.
TOP DIALOGUE: Fritz on the dangers of incest: “You think you want a whole slew of kids running around whose eyeballs are touching because you can’t keep your hands off your sister?”
DRINKING GAME: Drink every time you want Autumn to just stand there quietly. You’ll be drinking a lot.
TRIVIA: One of the film’s writers, Olatunde Osunsanmi, was Joe Carnahan’s assistant on the first SMOKIN’ ACES. He also went on to direct THE FOURTH KIND.
Director P.J. Pesce is a direct-to-video sequel ninja, having also helmed THE LOST BOYS 2, SNIPER 3, and FROM DUSK TILL DAWN 3: HANGMAN’S DAUGHTER.
BLU-RAY FEAUTRES: A pretty decent amount of extras, including behind-the-scenes looks at the set design, weapons and characters themselves; deleted scenes, a gag reel, and commentary from Joe Carnahan and director P.J. Pesce.