Movie I done watched

Last night, with a little reluctance, I watched Smokin' Aces. I was reluctant to watch it because when it was first released theatrically, it looked like a big stupid modern action movie to me. It was a big stupid action movie but what at first was a confusing music video type of movie with quick cuts and washed out colors turned into a fun movie where a bunch of whacked out assassins are racing each other to collect a million dollar purse for knocking off a mob informant. With the cast of characters they had, along with the pretty good casting, they had a fun movie going for about an hour.

For some reason this movie fell into the same trap many science fiction novels do, it had to tell a bigger story. Our hero can't just save his own ass, he's got to save the world. There's a subplot concerning a dying mob boss and his true identity that just gets in the way of what could have a been a bloody hit-man style retelling of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World. This movie reminds me of the time I saw Kirk Gibson hit a ball out of Tiger Stadium back in the 80's. It was a majestic towering fly ball that was foul by a good ten yards. People in the stands were stunned. We were witnessing what could be an exciting baseball moment. On the next pitch Gibson struck out on a ball that was almost over his head.