When directors like Quentin Tarantino or Guy Ritchie come out with their newest popcorn action flicks, the hype surrounding the release has Hollywood abuzz.

No-name Joe Carnahan is no Tarantino or Ritchie.

With no idea who Joe Carnahan was and ambiguous trailer teasers, Smokin' Aces previews seemed to portray a joint Mafia-FBI hunt for Ari Gold...er, I mean Jeremy Piven, while he was all cracked out in a penthouse.

And if the plot had stuck to that, it would have been stellar.

Smokin' Aces takes pages out of the Tarantino and the Guy Ritchie playbooks, but comes up just a little short in tying up its loose ends. As an action/crime flick the movie succeeds -- however within the last 15 minutes or so, when it tries desperately to blow your mind with a Usual-Suspects-size twist, (spoiler alert --Kevin Spacey's Keyser Soze) the movie doesn't quite pull it off.

The movie more or less is centered around sleazy Las Vegas entertainer-turned-mobster Buddy 'Aces' Israel (Jeremy Piven) as he camps out for one last "hoorah" (complete with mounds of cocaine and hookers) before he turns himself in to the FBI. Israel made a deal with the FBI to trade information about the Mafia for protective custody. As Piven is perched in his Lake Tahoe penthouse, FBI agents Donald Carruthers (Ray Liotta) and Richard Messner (a serious Ryan Reynolds sporting quite an impressive beard) discover that mob boss Primo Sparazza has put a hefty hit on Isreal's life. That's when the movie becomes a rat race of who can get to Israel first -- the mob's assassins or the FBI.

Along the way are a crazy and entertaining cast of hit men (and women; here's lookin' at you, Alicia Keys). Ben Affleck, Common and plenty more make appearances in what is built up to be a pretty entertaining climax.

But that's pretty much where it ends -- at the build-up. The movie is unbelievably entertaining, but it shines best in its moments of funny dialogue and shoot-'em-up action scenes. It is at its worst when it tries to be too sophisticated for its own good.

Overall, yes, if you want to see a fun, entertaining action/crime movie, definitely check out Smokin' Aces -- just don't expect any more out of it.

Grade: B