YMMV / Smokin' Aces

• Awesome Music:
  • At the end, when Richard Messner pulls the plug on the two mafia bosses and Clint Mansell's "Dead Reckoning" kicks in.
  • In the sequel/prequel, Evanescence's "Sweet Sacrifice" plays during the bar shoot-out.

• Draco in Leather Pants: The Tremor Brothers are neo-Nazis who casually kill people for their vehicles. Still, their family dynamic and cool weapons make them Breakout Characters among of the Carnival of Killers, and what little fan fiction the film has tends to center on them and cast them in a far more sympathetic light than the film does.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Acosta is a master assassin who's preferred weapon is a wrist-mounted, spring-loaded blade. He's also prone to conversations with his dying victims.
  • Chris Pine became the next actor to play Jack Ryan. Ben Affleck was the most recent actor to take on the role before that. Suddenly the scene where Darwin (Pine) kills Dupree (Affleck) and works his face like a puppet so he can apologize for killing him takes on a whole new meaning.
  • Similarly, Steve Trevor is in a movie with Batman, and ends up killing him. Especially funny because in Wonder Woman, Steve Trevor dies, but Batman is still alive in the DCEU.
  • Pasquale Acosta kills the casino's head of security. Roughly three years later, Jack threatens to blow up both Richard and himself.
• Ho Yay: Acosta really likes to get close to his victims. Also, Sharice has unrequited love towards Georgia.
• Jerkass Woobie: Israel is a hot-tempered criminal who will do almost anything to stay out of prison. However, he is deeply stressed out and conflicted about being marked for death and pressured to testify against his loyal friends and henchmen, which causes him agony even as he begins to stop protesting against that ultimatum. And this is without getting into how his own father wants to kill him for his organs.
• Nausea Fuel: Hollis Elmore's arc contains quite a bit of this.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • Lazlo Soot is particularly unsettling, whether it's his Dissonant Serenity, his bizarre Face Stealer process, or his general efficiency as a Professional Killer.
  • The moment Agent Carruthers realizes that he's stepped into the elevator with Pasquale "The Plague" Acosta. And slowly watching Acosta realize that he realizes it. Then suddenly they're pulling their guns and unloading on each other, creating utter chaos in the elevator's confined space.
  • Buddy Israel's security force is escorting a hand-cuffed Ivy to the elevators. As the elevator comes up, smoke begins to seep out from between the doors. Everyone realizes something is wrong; the guards draw their weapons, Ivy steps out of the way. The doors open, and out of the fog of smoke come the Tremor brothers, looking like they just jumped right out of a Mad Max movie, who proceed to decimate the security force with machetes, chainsaws, and WWII-era weapons.
• Retroactive Recognition: Watch it with friends, and see if they can work out who's playing the leader of the Tremor Bros. (Hint: It's Captain Kirk! And we ain't talkin' about William Shatner!)
• Squick:
  • Pasquale Acosta chewing his fingertips to the bone in a grimy cell.
  • Hollis's maimed hand after getting shot.
  • Jeeves Tremor falling ass-first on top of his own running chainsaw.
• Tear Jerker:
  • Messner's breakdown near the end over the death of Carruthers and the FBI's betrayal.
  • Buddy Israel's breakdown after he's forced to sell out his friends, Ivy tries to kill him, Beanie is found dead, and then the FBI drops him.
• The Woobie: Messner, Hollis, Sharice.

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