15 Awesome Plot Twists That Totally Saved Awful Movies
14. Messner Turns On The Corrupt FBI - Smokin' Aces
The Twist: At the start of the movie, Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven) turns FBI informant on the mob, leading to mob boss Primo Sparazza (Joseph Ruskin) issuing a bounty on his head. The FBI attempts to keep Israel alive, with Agent Locke (Andy Garcia) sending officers Messner (Ryan Reynolds) and Carruthers (Ray Liotta) to try and ward off the fleet of assassins.
After Carruthers is killed, Locke reveals the truth to Messner: Sparazza was an undercover FBI agent who lost his mind and assumed the role of a mob boss for real. However, he agreed to inform on the mob anyway, on the condition that the FBI deliver him Israel, who is in fact his son, and whose heart he requires for a transplant.
Disgusted by the truth, Messner walks into the hospital suite, locks the door and pulls the plug on both of Israel and Sparazza's life support machines, putting down his gun and badge in protest at the FBI's actions as Locke tries to break the door down.
Why It Saves The Movie: Despite a promising concept, Smokin' Aces was just a messy, throw-it-all-at-the-wall action flick that couldn't really cohere into an entertaining whole. The final few minutes, however, completely turned the movie's events on their head, and though a dumb film is still a dumb film, it finally created some drama viewers could really sink their teeth into, as the whole ugly operation crumbled like a soggy house of cards.