Ocean's 13

"The robb'd that smiles, steals something from the thief." Shakespeare's Othello

Andy Garcia's wealthy Terry Benedict is financing Danny Ocean's Vegas heist from casino owner Willie Bank (Al Pacino) in order to get the last smile of vengeance, thief to thief, while Danny and Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) exact their own revenge. No honor among these slick reprobates, and good time is had by all the men and, this time, not Julia Roberts, but Clooney's real-life squeeze, Ellen Barkin, as Abigail Sponder, tough right hand to Bank.

I go to most movies as a film critic with my sensibility well-guarded against the fluffy confection of just another heist. But the Ocean's franchise, like the Bond's, has a cachet all its own with eye-pleasing duds, high-tech high jinx, and self-referential dialogue. Thus I am free to enjoy without feeling as if I'd sold out to crass commercialism—I have, but willfully and pleasurably.

I guess I'm sucked in like everyone else at the movies, even with as many as I've seen and written about, because I want to go where the director, in this case the estimable Steven Soderbergh, wants to take me. In Ocean's 12, it was all over Europe; in Thirteen it's the entertainment Mecca of the Western world.

No deep thoughts come to mind, just summer mindlessness dressed up for partying (Pitt and Clooney very nicely decked out, understatedly). Clooney's musings about the changes in Vegas since guys like him had shaken Sinatra's hand serves as "change" leitmotif lighter than air. Twenty years from now we'll be talking about the iconic Pitt and Clooney in the same nostalgic way. Ocean's Thirteen reinforces its place in popular culture as a repository for our transitory adulation of movie stars and the escapes they gave us long ago.

At the end, Matt Damon exits with "See you when I see you," a fitting piece of noncommittal that may promise another Ocean's installment or just more star sightings. Clooney says goodbye to Pitt with an in-joke the world is in on: "Hey! Next time! Keep the weight off. Pitt retorts, "Have a couple of kids." This is typical of the low-key, sweetly narcissistic third installment.

Ocean's hits a lucky thirteen this time around without a big jackpot but a great deal of good will.

'Ocean's Thirteen' marks the end of the Ocean's trilogy in a good way.

It's slightly below the level of 'Ocean's Eleven' but does better 'Ocean's Twelve'. As with the preceding two, the cast elevate these films up with strong performances from George Clooney & Co. In regards to O13, I feel the plot is a tad drawn out though it does deliver by the end with its entertaining outcome.

Since I am a fan of the first two movies I expected a funny and thrilling film. What carried the viewer through its predecessors (great retro design, music etc.) now isn't enough for a really good movie. The story itself could be summed up too quickly. The preparation for the big thievery starts almost from the beginning of the film and it's justification is really poor. What can be really enjoyed are the colorful visuals and a bunch of stars that seem to enjoy themselves. All this prevents a worse vote. To me it seems that Hollywood is running out on ideas at the moment. Sequels are obviously attractive from a financial point of view but bear the risk that they are produced and conceived not careful enough.

This movie is at the level of the first.

With an exciting story that captivates the viewer, the film manages to give us a good robbery story, with well-executed plot twists, good story development, good production design and funny moments. There are a few holes in the script that don't explain what happened to characters that came out in previous movies, as well as some conveniences for the story to follow.

But the movie is entertaining and is a good closing for this trilogy.

Have you ever watched a film while multi-tasking? Well if you have, you should do it again but this time put on Ocean's Thirteen. I would not describe myself as a fan of the Oceans' movies but I have pretty much enjoyed all of them. In light of that though this is the worst one of the series.

The movie is very well acted in that it appears the whole cast has fun with the material from top to bottom. That does not make it a good film though it just makes it a nice to get together. One thing I could say though was this time around I actually noticed Casey Affleck because of his recent breakout performances in other films. So with that, he and Al Pacino just adds to the fun of watching all the great actors and stars in the film. The script is very witty at times and did have me chuckle more often then not. What was missing though were the star actresses. Tangle in all the fun of a crazy scheme to rob a casino, gambling and just Las Vegas is the women. It would have been great to see Julia Roberts or Catherina Zeta Jones or even both back for the film. Instead we had to settle with Ellen Barkin who has not nearly as an impressive career or persona as her counterparts.

As the rest of the series this film really is not too thought provoking or deep. It won't inspire you to do something so honestly it won't be too necessary to focus all your thoughts on this film. This is an entertaining film considering George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Al Pacino, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac and Casey Affleck are in it but yet it isn't as well made or enjoyable as its predecessors.