10 Massively Underrated 2000s Movie Performances

Now, Smokin’ Aces is far from everybody’s cup of tea. Its overall reception has been less than stellar, for several reasons: it wasn’t quite the movie that trailers suggested it would be, its plotting is all kinds of jumbled, the ending comes so quickly and sharply it could cause a fender bender… All of these things may be true, but here’s the rub: that’s a situation ripe for Ryan Reynolds to excel in.

If you’ve seen the Canadian actor in action before, you’ll know that he’s not a man to take a situation seriously. He wouldn’t be the best pick as a lead for a true life drama, that’s for sure. He’s one of those actors movie makers don’t direct, per se; they unleash him in front of the camera and hope that something brilliantly ridiculous happens (see also: Jim Carrey). Which it always does.

Brilliantly ridiculous would be the perfect words to sum up this film. The plot centers around a mafia informant, various assassins’ hunt for him after a bounty of one million dollars is placed upon him, and the FBI’s attempts to protect him for the sake of his testimony. Reynolds plays Richard Messner, an agent of the FBI, and he does so with glorious gusto. The final scene in the emergency room, in which he ‘retires’ in the most spectacular fashion anyone has ever quit a job ever, is a real highlight. The ever-increasingly army of Reynolds fans will want to track this one down.