We all know how these movies work by now. Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his bunch of merry men that include A-List stars Brad Pitt and Matt Damon want to take down a smug rich villain and embarrass him whilst taking revenge for a misdemeanor he has caused them. And of course to steal his cash whilst they are at it. By now we've seen these guys in two movies in six years, so we know what they are all about, and this familiarity is a good thing. It gives us a sense of bondness from the get-go. We believe they all care about each other and I think that's what this movie is about at the end of the day. It's about friendship and working together for the common goal of loyalty being a part of a team. The bad guy Willie Banks (Al Pacino), his only crime is not being loyal to a team and he must suffer the consequences for this. A couple of references in the film are made to Frank Sinatra and the "shaking of his hand", an obvious nod to the kind of "Rat Pack Bond" that comes with business. If you shook his hand your part of the gang and your biggest crime in life is screwing over your peers. In Ocean's Thirteen, director Stephen Soderbergh's smugness direction of the last movie is completely forgotten about and the talented film-maker is straight back down to business. This movie is stylish, at times suprisingly innovative in camera work and fluid movement and is directed with a masterfully light touch where the humor is played straight without any grandeur. The jokes roll off the tongue and aren't lingered over or drawn-out in a way that you become sick of it or that it gets in the way of the plot. This is a very entertaining movie. Screenwriters Brian Koppelman and David Levien who previously wrote the twisting thriller Runaway Jury and the impressive poker movie Rounders in 1998 (starring Matt Damon ironically) should get lots of praise here. This movie is the tightest in the franchise and is wonderfully coherent despite the huge array of characters whose now star power demand a decent character arc. I mean Christ, you have Oscar nominated actors like Don Cheadle and Elliott Gould in small supporting roles here, you gotta give them something to do... and they manage it really well. Ocean's Thirteen is most similar to Ocean's Eleven but therefore it also suffers from the same pitfalls. Not once do you feel like these characters aren't going to get away with any outlandish plan they scheme. When the pivotal moment of "suspense" comes, of course they aren't going to be sent to jail... it's all part of the plan. It's kind of like imaging The Great Escape with the fantastic moments of suspense in the third act where your desperate for these characters to get away but if you know that the characters all going to get out and escape... where is the fun in that? The tension in The Great Escape comes from the knowledge that they could get caught by the Germans at any second and the classic film is all the better for it. It's not as fun knowing that they aren't in any real danger in Soderbergh's movie and indeed Ocean's Thirteen suffers from this like the first movie did. I missed Julia Roberts too. Not specifically her as an actress or her character per-say but just simply the need for a female companion in the team. Someone that Brad Pitt and especially George Clooney can play off from to add some sexual tension to the mix... especially in such a male driven movie like this. Ellen Barkin does a great job with the only female character in the film but she didn't have much of a character unfortuantely. Still, I enjoyed this movie for the most part but just wish it had gone those few extra steps to make it something truly great. Al Pacino clearly had fun with his villainy character, and he's definitely the best of the bad guys we have had so far in this franchise although like Andy Garcia in the first film... he is no where near menacing enough.
rating:3
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Ocean's Thirteen benefits from it's simple plot and it's return to all the things it did so well in the first film. Pacino is great, Pitt & Clooney have never been so cool and although it's riddled with problems, it moves along at a decent pace and is entertaining enough. Lacks any suspense to make it truly memorable though.