Friday, June 29, 2007

Ocean's 13

Title: Ocean's 13 (2007)
Dir: Steven Soderbergh
Rating: ***1/2 out of 5 stars



I never saw Ocean's 12 (and apparently I never should) but I really enjoyed the first and third films. They both have a good sense of humor and a really clever heist. Julia Roberts and CZJ are absent this time around, but no big loss. The entire leading male cast returns, plus we get Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin back together again.

When a friend (Elliott Gould) gets screwed over by dickhead casino owner Willy Banks (Pacino), the Ocean team plots some revenge. Their plan involves sabotaging Banks' new high-security Vegas casino upon its grand opening and thus publicly humiliating Banks. The crew even enlists the help of their former enemy, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia).

Their heist is occasionally implausible, but watching it play out is undeniably entertaining. There are clever scams and unexpected twists. Soderbergh and his writers deliver exactly what the viewer wants - a fun heist movie. Even if you hated Ocean's 12, this sequel more than makes up for it.

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