Ocean's Twelve

Ocean's Twelve (Director: Steven Soderbergh)

Soderbergh has been behind some of the most unique films of the past 6 years, and he's also been a part of a couple of uniquely bad ones. Out of Sight is still his best, and it's the one that swung his career into full gear. There is the very good Erin Brockovich which after a second viewing was better than the first. I never really, really liked Traffic although I think it's good. The Limey may still be his one uncovered gem. There are two films here, though, that misfired. Full Frontal was one of the worst movies I've seen and Solaris, while I will grant was interesting, was impenetrable as entertainment. Ocean's Eleven was a fine remake with lots of fun to be had, and lining up Soderbergh's films (also including the good Sex, Lies, and Videotape), it makes a good leader to the middle of the pack.

It's funny how many critics will be dismissive of a movie with no plot or deeply drawn characters, like say, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. However, when that movie contains stars like George Clooney (this his 4th acting collaboration with Soderbergh), Brad Pitt (his 3rd), Matt Damon, Julia Roberts (her 4th), Don Cheadle (his 4th), Catherine Zeta-Jones, and an army of character actors (Andy Garcia, Bernie Mac, Carl Reiner, Elliott Gould, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, etc.), the critics give the movie a pass. Now, I'm sort of a different breed when it comes to this type of thing, because I liked Harold And Kumar, and for the same reasons, I like this movie.

The remake of Ocean's Eleven was a hell of a lot of fun just to see Danny Ocean (Clooney) orchestrate three casino heists all in the same night using each member's skills to some effect, and even more fun to see a dangerous casino mogul in Terry Benedict (Garcia) try to stop them. Now, in Ocean's Twelve, Benedict has come to collect, with interest, his money back even though the insurance has already taken care of that. It's payback time.

That's really just the beginning of the plot, since the acquiring of their money will rely on Ocean's ability to beat Francois Toulour, The Night Fox (Vincent Cassell, the lucky bastard who's married to Monica Bellucci) in the stealing of a faberge egg in a Rome museum. The Night Fox considers himself a protege of a legendary thief named La Marque (who is played by a terrific surprise actor).

The grandeur of the heist sequences are what makes the film fun, and to discuss any one particular thing would be to ruin the surprises for you. Just know that there are twists, misinformation, trickery, great skill, acrobatics, and most importantly, great attention to detail to pull them off. This is where a good director like Soderbergh pisses all over movies like The Italian Job and After the Sunset.

Plus, there's more! Soderbergh throws in a variety of in-jokes (including one in a major plot point that is downright brilliant--the difference between reality and fiction blended into jaw-dropping harmony). There are funny cameos. The movie is just made for fun. And it is. This is why the movie gets a pass, but I wish other movies that are made in this way that don't have the stars or the scale would be treated the same.