Ocean's 11
Last Christmas season (2001) brought the reward for moviegoers who had waited patiently all year for quality films to be shown in theatres. Cinema patrons finally had a real choice from Lord of the Rings, A Beautiful Mind, Vanilla Sky, Ali, and others. Another well-executed film during the holiday season was Ocean's 11, Steven Soderbergh's remake of the 1960 Brat Pack classic.
Ex-convict Danny Ocean's (George Clooney) first post-parole plan is to rob three casinos owned by multimillionaire hard-ass Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia). Danny knows that he can't do it alone; he meets up with his old friend Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) to help with the heist. The co-conspirators consult a self-proclaimed casino-security expert who tells them they have no chance of pulling off the theft.
Danny and Rusty remain adamant about committing the robbery but agree that it will take more than the two of them to succeed. They recruit other con artists, a demolitionist, and an acrobat/contortionist to facilitate the theft with their specialized skills. Once the group begins to study the casinos' operations, Danny learns that Benedict is dating his ex-wife Tess (Julia Roberts). For Danny Ocean, the idea of robbing Terry Benedict has reached a new level.
Ocean's 11 can be classified as a crime movie, but it contains a great deal of subtle humor which keeps the tone light. Examples include the bickering Malloy brothers and Danny's parole hearing. Soderbergh and screenwriter Ted Griffin (inspired by the 1960 screenplay) show enough information to allow you to follow the story but not enough to let you predict it. This is a nice contrast from movie endings that are obvious within the first 10 minutes of the film.
Steven Soderbergh fans will enjoy the reunion of actors that have appeared in his previous films. Julia Roberts won her first Oscar for her starring role in Erin Brockovich, a Best Picture nominee. George Clooney and Don Cheadle (the demo expert in Ocean's 11) both performed in Out of Sight. Here's another bit of trivia that'll knock your friends off their asses. This is the second film in which Julia Roberts and Matt Damon are credited alongside each other. They both made their feature film debut in Mystic Pizza. You learn something new and interesting every day.
Ocean's 11's most attractive quality is that it knows exactly where it stands. It's not trying to triumph over Citizen Kane or win any major awards. It tries to be light-hearted and funny, but it doesn't want you to miss an important part of the plot because you were laughing hysterically at something else. It keeps you guessing without being too complicated. Simply stated, it's fun to watch, regardless of habitual genre preferences or mood during time of viewing. Ocean's 11 is an equal-opportunity crowd-pleaser.
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There is some minor alcohol intake seen in the film. You may "raise the bet" if you choose.
Charismatic leading characters are nice to look at, but the romantic subplot is weak.
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