Buddy 'Aces' Israel is a Las Vegas magician who had become a little too close to the Mafia; at first he just enjoyed hanging out with mobsters then he wanted to become one and finally he has a choice; go to jail or inform on the mob
in particular Primo Sparazza the brutal leader of the Las Vegas Mob. Soon there is a million dollar bounty on his head and a variety of hit men (and women), bounty hunters and the FBI are converging on his penthouse apartment in a Lake Tahoe hotel. When they get there all hell will break loose.
For the most part this is a fairly routine action film; it starts well with the explanation of the main plot and introduction of the numerous people we assume will be the main characters. A few of them don't really last long enough to be considered main characters though. They are a varied bunch; a pair of FBI agents who think taking Buddy into custody should be a relatively routine assignment; a pair of female assassins; a trio of somewhat insane killers; a few independent killers; a group of bounty hunters; Buddy and his entourage and mention of the mysterious 'Swede'. During these introductions we see flashbacks of some of their previous work. Once the action in Tahoe gets started it is quickly turned up to eleven and it is anybody's guess which of our protagonists will survive. The cast includes plenty of familiar names including; Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, Ray Liotta and Ryan Reynolds they all do a decent enough jobs although for me the most memorable characters were played by singer Alicia Keys, on her acting debut, and Taraji P. Henson as the hitwomen Georgia Sykes and Sharice Watters this may have been aided by the fact that the latter's weapon of choice was a massive fifty calibre rifle! As the film reaches its end there is a twist that is a bit unnecessary but wasn't enough to detract from the film. It must be noted that this film isn't for the squeamish as there is a lot of bloody mayhem which is often brutal rather than just over-the-top. Overall though I'd recommend this to anybody wanting action, a degree of comedy and isn't easily offended.
For the most part this is a fairly routine action film; it starts well with the explanation of the main plot and introduction of the numerous people we assume will be the main characters. A few of them don't really last long enough to be considered main characters though. They are a varied bunch; a pair of FBI agents who think taking Buddy into custody should be a relatively routine assignment; a pair of female assassins; a trio of somewhat insane killers; a few independent killers; a group of bounty hunters; Buddy and his entourage and mention of the mysterious 'Swede'. During these introductions we see flashbacks of some of their previous work. Once the action in Tahoe gets started it is quickly turned up to eleven and it is anybody's guess which of our protagonists will survive. The cast includes plenty of familiar names including; Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, Ray Liotta and Ryan Reynolds they all do a decent enough jobs although for me the most memorable characters were played by singer Alicia Keys, on her acting debut, and Taraji P. Henson as the hitwomen Georgia Sykes and Sharice Watters this may have been aided by the fact that the latter's weapon of choice was a massive fifty calibre rifle! As the film reaches its end there is a twist that is a bit unnecessary but wasn't enough to detract from the film. It must be noted that this film isn't for the squeamish as there is a lot of bloody mayhem which is often brutal rather than just over-the-top. Overall though I'd recommend this to anybody wanting action, a degree of comedy and isn't easily offended.