10 More Awesome Plot Twists That Totally Saved Terrible Movies
2. Aces Is Sparazza's Son, Messner Pulls The Plug - Smokin' Aces
Smokin' Aces is the cinematic equivalent of spending 109 minutes with someone buzzing obnoxiously off illicit substances while you're sat in the corner, sober as a judge.
It's got a great cast and has boundless energy, but is ultimately just a bit annoying - yet another darkly comedic thriller that wishes it was a Tarantino film.
But to filmmaker Joe Carnahan's credit, he does save the best for last, with a slew of climactic revelations which suggest a far more interesting film was possible overall.
Smokin' Aces is centered around Vegas magician Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven), who has become a mafia informant for the FBI, prompting mob boss Primo Sparazza (Joseph Ruskin) to place a $1 million bounty on anyone who can kill Israel and bring him his heart.
Lots of loud, grating mayhem ensues over the next 90 minutes, before the truth is revealed to FBI Agent Messner (Ryan Reynolds).
In fact, Israel is Sparazza's illegitimate son, and the FBI wishes for an ailing Sparazza to receive his son's heart so they can continue to drill him for information.
Oh, and Sparazza is also a former undercover FBI agent who decided to become Sparazza for real after the FBI tried to have him assassinated for getting too deep into his cover. Irony!
The final twist then sees Messner, infuriated at seeing his fellow agents die for a mob boss, decide to lock himself in the operating room and pull the plug on both Israel and Sparazza's life support, killing them while FBI honcho Locke (Andy Garcia) tries to break in.
It's one hell of a twist avalanche, that's for sure, and helps bring an otherwise exhaustingly chaotic film into something approaching focused logic.