Save the Cat rankings

SMOKIN' ACES script analysis

SMOKIN' ACES script - Save the Cat beat sheet analysis

Smokin’ Aces follows multiple hit teams converging on magician Buddy Israel in a Vegas penthouse while the FBI scrambles to keep him alive. As alliances form and fracture, both assassins and agents collide in a deadly shootout that culminates in betrayal, survival, and a final reckoning at a hospital.

70 Save the Cat fit score 22% analysis confidence / 66 parsed scenes

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1

Opening Image

Scene 1 / Page 1 / 1% target

15%

Shows FBI surveillance operators in a cramped van, establishing the high-stakes investigation mood.

2

Theme Stated

Scene 6 / 5% target

20%

The briefing on Primo’s legendary ruthlessness hints that survival depends on knowing your enemy’s limits.

Sparazza is rumored to have performed in excess of one-hundred and thirty contract murders.
3

Set-Up

Scenes 2-9 / 10% target

25%

Introduces Buddy Israel’s back-story, his entourage’s dysfunction, and the FBI’s rush to protect him before his meeting with prosecutors.

4

Catalyst

Scene 9 / 12% target

30%

The agents learn Israel must meet prosecutors in 24 hours—raising the ticking-clock stakes.

We lose our case. Twenty-four hours from now, he's scheduled to meet with federal prosecutors.
5

Debate

Scene 22 / 20% target

28%

Dupree, Deeks, and Elmore argue over infiltration details, questioning whether they can pull off the hit safely.

Same place that rents the guard's uniforms. There's a shift change at 9am. Graveyard goes home and we...
6

Break into Two

Scene 28 / 25% target

30%

Acosta abandons stealth and kills the hotel security supervisor, shifting the story into active assault.

Yes it is and right now it's filling your lungs. In less than a minute, you'll asphyxiate and...
7

B Story

Scene 29 / 30% target

20%

Elmore survives the lake ambush alone, initiating his personal arc of survival and redemption.

8

Fun and Games

Scenes 30-38 / 40% target

25%

Assassins check in and prepare disguises, tension builds as hit teams get into position and violence erupts in the suite.

9

Midpoint

Scene 40 / 50% target

35%

Carruthers and Acosta’s elevator fight – a violent “point of no return” where both sides commit fully to lethal conflict.

Can't maintenance do that?
10

Bad Guys Close In

Scenes 45-48 / 65% target

30%

Ivy turns on Israel, Beanie is murdered, and security scrambles as the penthouse dissolves into chaos.

11

All Is Lost

Scene 58 / 75% target

25%

During the hallway assault, Buddy Israel collapses with a heart attack—hope seems gone.

12

Dark Night of the Soul

Scene 61 / 80% target

20%

After the carnage, FBI and survivors process the bodies; Soot’s suicide underscores the emotional nadir.

13

Break into Three

Scene 65 / 85% target

25%

Messner offers to drive Elmore back to Vegas, pivoting from despair to one last attempt to honor the fallen.

I'll take care of it.
14

Finale

Scene 66 / 95% target

30%

Messner confronts Locke in the hospital, revealing the true nature of the conspiracy and closing major arcs.

...for a press release. Officially, he took his own life, suicide by hanging, something of that sort. Basic...
15

Final Image

Scene 66 / 99% target

18%

The hushed hospital room contrasts sharply with the opening van scene, showing how personal cost defines this case’s aftermath.