SMOKIN' ACES 2: ASSASSINS' BALL
2 out of 5 stars

when a movie goes straight to DVD, it is an indication that it's probably going to suck... point proven with this one! :/


it looks like the production for this "prequel" or "sequel" either ran out of money or had problems with casting the right people since the special effects are quite bad and the acting is pretty much horrible as well... smokin' aces was set in vegas/tahoe, but this time, the assassins are following a hit out on FBI intelligence analyst walter weed in chicago! walter weed is played by the great tom berenger (why did he even agree to be in this?) and he's being protected by a rag tag team of FBI agents in a secured bunker underneath a jazz club in chi-town. it's only a matter of time, where the FBI's security is breached by the known assassins: 1) ariella martinez: spanish black widow type w/ known expertise in poisons 2) finbar mcteague (VINNIE JONES! but playing the same character as he did in snatch): aka the "surgeon" and torture expert 3) the stupid tremor family: hillbilly fuckheads with some comic relief 4) lazlo soot (the dude from sons of anarchy playing the same character from SA - THANK GOD!): the assassin that likes to use disguises as his method of penetrating security around a target...

i honestly would have liked the movie better with the dumbass tremor clan because they were just...dumb. the exploding clowns were kind of funny, but they just did not live up to the tremor name like they did in the first smokin' aces. also, vinnie jones and the black widow chick were great characters, and i certainly wished they had more screen time! ugh... felt so cheated out of a good death! plus, the little twist at the end wasn't as good as the first one. why couldn't joe carnahan direct his own sequel?

the only redeeming factor is that we learn the truth about beanie AKA agent malcolm little! actually didn't see that one coming, thus extra star... ;)