Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Magician turned gangster Buddy “Aces” Israel (Jeremy Piven) is in a load of trouble by turning states evidence against the mob. When the jilted mob boss finds out he’s holding-up in Lake Tahoe, he offers a $1 million bounty on his head and every lowlife thug is out to earn a quick buck and it’s up to a couple of FBI agents to try and protect their key witness before one of the fortune seekers hits pay dirt.

In the sequel/prequel, there’s much of the same antics but the hit has been placed on Walter Weed (Tom Berenger), a FBI desk jokey who finds out a team of psychotic assassins have been dispatched to send him to the afterlife. Why Walter?

As a reviewer, sometimes you’re forced to watch things that don't interest you, and that’s certainly the case here. The meaningless, over-the-top violence gets old fast and I can’t say I connected with any of the characters in either film. The action is pretty intense and the cinematography is well-done, but the stories are unoriginal.

Both feature outstanding encodes with vivid color palettes, excellent detail, and razor-sharp backgrounds. The prints are clean but black levels are slightly crushed with poorly resolved shadows. Contrast is a tad hot, but I think it’s the intended look of the cinematographers.

Each film boasts a DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack with a plethora of panning effects across the front soundstage and endless discrete effects from the surround speakers. Dynamic range is first class with intelligible dialog, booming gunshots, and plenty of noise.

Much like the films, the supplements aren’t very impressive. Smokin’ Aces offers an alternate ending, 18 minutes of deleted scenes, some behind-the-scenes featurettes (all in SD), a PIP with the cast, and two commentary tracks. Smokin’ Aces 2 lacks a PIP track, but at least the bonus features are presented in HD. These include deleted scenes, a gag real, a few behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a feature commentary with executive producer Joe Carnahan (who wrote/directed the first film) and director P.J. Pesce. There’s also an iPhone/iTouch application called “pocket BLU,” that adds select bonus features to the devices for viewing outside the home and it can turn the devices into a virtual remote and keyboard for the BD-Live featurettes (not tested).

I’m sure action junkies will enjoy these films more than I did, but I think I’ve passed the target demographic by a few birthdays—or 10. I did enjoy the look and the sound, but I prefer a good story along with my eye/ear candy.

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Release Date: January 19, 2010
Studio: Universal

Smokin’ Aces
Movie: 4/10
Picture: 9/10
Sound: 9/10

Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassins’ Ball
Movie: 3/10
Picture: 9/10
Sound: 9/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics