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Ocean's Eleven (Widescreen Edition) Customer Reviews (37 - 39 of 80 Reviews)

Rat Pack: The Next Generation
"Ocean's 11," directed by Steven Soderbergh, is a remake of a 1960 film of the same name. That first film co-starred the notorious "Rat Pack," which included Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. Soderbergh's version stars George Clooney as Danny Ocean, an ex-convict who organizes a team of 11 criminals for an audacious plot: to rob the vault of Las Vegas casinos owned by super-rich Terry Benedict (played with a nice edge by Andy Garcia).

"O11" is a very entertaining film: an effective mix of humor, character drama, inventive plot twists, and high-tech thrills. The superb ensemble cast includes Julia Roberts (as Clooney's love interest), Matt Damon (as a pickpocket), and Brad Pitt (as a master card player). The ensemble members have great chemistry together. Clooney follows up terrific roles in "The Perfect Storm" and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" with his role as Ocean. Clooney is charming and likeable, and his expressive eyes bring a nice wistful touch to his performance.

The film is also greatly enlivened by the versatile Don Cheadle as a British demolitions expert. Elliot Gould is hilarious as a rival to Garcia's character: watch out for his outrageous costumes. But my favorite performance in the film belongs to show biz legend Carl Reiner as an aging con man; he is outstanding, and quite endearing, in his double-layered role.

Some aspects of the plot are a bit far-fetched, and I must admit to a degree of unease with a film that essentially glorifies destructive criminal behavior. But the film's strong points are evident. I particularly like how the film evokes the excitement, glamour, and intrigue of the high-stakes Las Vegas scene. "Ocean's 11" is another strong effort from one of our most interesting directors.

Not A Bad Con.
"Ocean's Eleven" is one of those films that does not attempt to be a stirring social commentary or a barrage of poop jokes that's supposed to be a comedy (although there is only one joke involving human waste in this film). It is simply meant to entertain, and it does just that. George Clooney stars as Danny Ocean, a paroled thief who decides to rob a major casino owner (played by Andy Garcia) of his casino's earnings during a boxing match. He assembles a crew of eleven theives to pull of the heist, but why would he want to go through with this seemngly impossible job? Is it because of the $160 million dollar pay off? Or maybe it's because his ex-wife (Julia Roberts) happens to be the casino owner's new girl? What do you think? This movie manages to put together a nice ensemble for our crew (including Bernie Mac as a con artist, Carl Reiner as an aging thief, Don Cheadle as a explosives expert, and many, many others) and the solid performances and brilliant dialogue managed to keep this movie from being an empty, flashy caper flick and makes it an enjoyable, flashy caper flick. The DVD itself has some nice additional stuff, including a commentary with the director and writer (dry, but funny nonetheless) and one with several of the stars (such as Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, and Matt Damon) that's just as fun. Definitely worth a look-see.

Ring-a-ding-ding, baby!
After directing gritty movies like "Traffic", "Erin Brockovich" and "Out of Sight", Steven Soderbergh decided to take it easy and create a movie whose sole purpose was to entertain. He's done exactly that with "Ocean's 11", an entertaining piece of fluff that mostly delivers.

George Clooney leads an all-star cast in this remake of the 1960 Rat Pack caper picture. Thief and ex-con Danny Ocean (Clooney) has recently been released from prison and is already planning his magnum opus: the theft of $150 million from a Las Vegas casino owned by Terry Benedict (a glowering Andy Garcia). But Danny can't pull it off alone, so he recruits his friend Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) and a motley group of shady characters, including Cockney demolitions expert "Basher" Tarr (Don Cheadle), con man Saul Bloom (a scene-stealing Carl Reiner) and light-fingered pickpocket Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon). The larcenous crew is rounded out by card sharp Frank Catton (Bernie Mac), money man Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), Chinese acrobat Yen (Shaobo Qin), and bickering drivers Turk Malloy and Virgil Malloy (the frequently hilarious Scott Caan and Casey Affleck). Complicating things (and fueling Danny's quest) is the fact that Benedict is involved with Danny's ex-wife Tess (Julia Roberts).

"Ocean's 11" unfolds smoothly through the standard caper-movie set pieces: the setup, the heist and the getaway. There's lots of snappy patter, played very nicely by the talented cast, and fantastic music--I'd like to see Soderbergh's record collection. Clooney exudes movie-star charm and hipster cool in the role Sinatra originated as ringleader Ocean; it contrasts well with the smoldering Garcia. Cheadle is a hoot, if vastly under-used, but that's the problem with ensemble movies. Brad Pitt, in a standout role, manages to act rather than just coast on his good looks. Ocean and Ryan are a natural fit, like Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. I'd like to see their characters in another picture.

The only real stumbling block in my mind is the romantic triangle involving Danny, Tess and Terry. Roberts and Clooney just don't click. There simply are no sparks between them, as there were between, say, Clooney and Jennifer Lopez in the crackerjack "Out of Sight". This made it difficult for me to care about their fractured relationship, and whether or not they would ever make up. In fact, it was pretty much the only sour note in the movie, but it was a big one; it just felt tacked on (pretty much like Frank Sinatra's and Angie Dickinson's relationship in the original).

And so, to sum up this too-long review: "Ocean's 11" is not a classic like "The Sting", but it's pretty good nonetheless. My grade: B+.

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