A Mess Of Clips From Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball

Reviews be damned, I had a blast with the original Smokin' Aces. It demonstrated a sheer glee and sense of fun that seems to be sorely lacking in big-budget action messes like the Transformers movies. Was it over the top to the point of ridiculousness? Yep. Filled with paper-thin characters often bordering on cliché? Yes indeed. Did it throw in a hamfisted third-act twist that stretched credulity? You betcha. Did I enjoy the hell out of it despite all that? Absolutely.

The direct-to-DVD prequel hits on January 19th, and it looks like it might carry on the same love-it-or-hate it insane tradition of the first. Will it be able to live up the brilliance of a pre-Kirk Christopher Pine putting on a ventriloquist act with the mouth of a dead Ben Affleck? Probably not, but we can hope. Either way, we've got seven clips for you to check out, a mix of behind-the-scenes stuff and scenes from the actual movie.

Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball finds a new excuse to sic a pack of colorful assassins on a hapless schmuck. This time the schmuck in question is FBI intelligence analyst Walter Weed (Tom Berenger), targeted for termination by hired killers played by the likes of Vinnie Jones, Tommy Flanagan, Martha Higareda, and more. Sadly, Mr. Pine is busy going boldly these days, so he won't return as neo-Nazi Darwin Tremor, although his murderous siblings do factor in somehow. Joe Carnahan also isn't writing or directing this time, just exec producing. You can pick up Smokin' Aces 2 on Blu-ray and DVD next Tuesday, and you can check back next week for our review.

Day by Bloody Day (Clip 1)