This is a slick and fun remake of the 1960’s movie that features an ensemble cast. It’s a thin piece of Las Vegas movie entertainment. Even still, it has little depth beyond that, and it never gets that exciting or pulse pounding.
Leading the ensemble cast is George Clooney as Danny Ocean, who is released on parole. He immediately breaks his parole by getting out of the state to assemble an old team together: Brad Pitt, Bernie Mac, Elliot Gould, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Eddie Jemison, Don Cheadle, Shaobo Qin, Carl Reiner and Matt Damon. The problem with having an ensemble cast in a movie is that some of the characters are the highlights of the movie, and a few of the others are simply pushed aside so that we only see them once or twice. For example, Clooney, Pitt, Damon, Gould and Mac lead the show, while the other characters are portrayed as being necessary to the film, but their roles are nevertheless minor. Andy Garcia stars as Terry Benedict, the team’s target, and Julia Roberts is Ocean’s ex-wife, Tess. Steven Soderdough directs the ensemble cast, but he doesn’t make us care about the characters.
The team plans to rob three of Benedict’s casinos on one night. Most of the film is the events and planning leading up to the big night of the heist.
The majority of the movie is set in Vegas. It’s classy, and full of wit and style. Beyond that though, Ocean’s Eleven is thin and never sublime, not that it should be either. The film fails to tense the viewer, and we don’t care that the team pulls off a big heist, but we all still dearly hope that they can pull off a good picture.
So therefore, Ocean’s Eleven is at best popcorn entertainment. Sure, this is a movie that I, or anyone for that matter, could sit down and watch. Even so, I can still think of a lot of other movies that I would rather spend my time watching.
The success of Ocean’s Eleven prompted two sequels, in which the actors reprised their roles and Soderdough returned for the job of director.
** ½/5
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