Ocean's Eleven Review
by Annette Cardwell (cardwell AT filmcritic DOT com)December 7th, 2001
OCEAN'S ELEVEN
A film review by Annette Cardwell
Copyright 2001 filmcritic.com
In the words of George Peppard from his immortal role on TV's The
A-Team, I love it when a plan comes together, and, man, does it ever
come together in nearly every possible way in Steven Soderbergh's very
clever, stylish, slick, and engrossing remake of the Rat Pack ensemble
heist film Ocean's Eleven.
Since his feature debut with sex, lies and videotape, Soderbergh has
walked the tenuous line between art and entertainment. He very rarely
insults his audiences' intelligence or sense of humor or style -- even
when he busted into the Hollywood big time. Now, a year after picking up
his Oscar for the epic Traffic, he shows his range by dipping back into
his old cheeky, seductive comedic bag of tricks last seen in Out of
Sight. He even brings back Sight leading man George Clooney as crew boss
Danny Ocean.
Ocean, just released from prison, immediately starts planning the
biggest heist in Las Vegas history: Rob three casinos owned by Vegas
magnate Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) -- who also happens to be dating
Ocean's ex-wife Tess (Juila Roberts).
Ocean's right-hand man Dusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) starts putting the crew
together, and Reuben Tishkoff (Elliot Gould) -- who's looking for
revenge for Benedict closing down his casino -- finances the massive
undertaking. The team is a band of misfits, all with something to offer:
techie (Eddie Jemison), shadow (Matt Damon), munitions expert (Don
Cheadle), inside man (Bernie Mac), mechanics (Casey Affleck and Scott
Caan), seasoned veteran (Carl Reiner), and a Chinese gymnast (Shaobo
Qin). You gotta have a Chinese gymnast.
Their only problem is the safe they're looking to crack is the
impregnable Bellagio vault under the Las Vegas Strip. The take? Only
$150 million. And, of course, once they get the cash, they have to get
out. Easy enough.
But truly, it really is easy enough... or at least Soderbergh makes it
seem that way. To start, the script is impeccably efficient to the point
where you float along on its rapid fire dialogue like a raft over
rapids. The structure of the heist is totally plausible, even down to
its most technical high-tech details. And it never robs us of character
development, a rare trait in most action/heist movies.
All that great writing isn't lost on this incredible cast. Clooney is
very much his old charming self, delivering lines in his classic cool,
smirky way. Pitt is mostly action, but handles his very essential bits
of dialogue with aplomb. Gould is hilariously neurotic, and Garcia is
coldly menacing. And, while I was worried about Julia Roberts, she's
effectively sly, quiet, and very pretty in her role. Reiner is
phenomenal in his relatively minor part. And, even Bernie Mac manages to
level us with some hilarious monologues.
And pulling all the strings is -- you guessed it -- Soderbergh.
Honestly, Ocean's Eleven is not his finest film. It's certainly more
popcorn than masterpiece, but it's so beautifully watchable and
enjoyable that you'll happily inhale its jazzy, madcap ether. And,
perhaps, be glad that you're not watching the Rat Pack version.
For the most part, this Ocean's Eleven is barely a remake of the 1960
film starring Frank Sinatra and his Las Vegas pals. The original had the
eleven robbing five casinos; this one, the guys rob three. Otherwise,
the only similarity is that this redo maintains that incredible old
school class -- meaning no cursing, sex, nudity, or gore. And, yes, it's
still fantastic. Imagine that -- a Hollywood remake actually better than
the original.
RATING: ****1/2
|------------------------------|
\ ***** Perfection \
\ **** Good, memorable film \
\ *** Average, hits and misses \
\ ** Sub-par on many levels \
\ * Unquestionably awful \
|------------------------------|
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Producer: Jerry Weintraub
Writer: Ted Griffin
Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts, Matt
Damon, Elliot Gould, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan,
Carl Reiner
http://oceans11.warnerbros.com/
---
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=filmcriticcom&path=subst/video/sellers/amazon-top-100-dvd.html Movie Fiends: Check out Amazon.com's Top 100 Hot DVDs!
Ask about our affordable e-mail advertising!
Visit filmcritic.com on the Web at http://www.filmcritic.com
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
