Ocean's Eleven

A remake of a rat pack film, this was a brave venture to take on, and thank you Steven Soderbergh for this valiant effort.

Retaining a good cast, Soderbergh has modified this movie to fit with the times, and he has helped create a very slick and stylish thriller.

Danny Ocean, wants to pull off the crime of the century, by ripping off three Casino's at the same time, while at the same time settling a score or two with the casino's owner. With the help of ten others, he might just do it. Or is he not quite as smart as he appears to be.

8/10

Recommended

I imagine that followers of the legend of the Clan would find it unforgivable that George Clooney remade the ultimate Rat Pack film Ocean's 11. But I think even Frank, Dean, and Sammy would be happy with what Clooney and director Steven Soderbergh did with it. It's nothing less than a crackerjack caper film with a few stars to gaze at also.

The point in the original is that this was a film almost made as a lark for the participants while the main players were appearing at the legendary Sands Resort in Las Vegas. These were old army ranger buddies who decide to put their training to use and heist five casinos.

Clooney and buddy Brad Pitt's film has them in the Frank and Dean roles and they're a much more professional outfit who are only doing one of them. But it's the one Andy Garcia owns and Clooney has a score to settle with him. He's taken Clooney's wife away played here ever so briefly by Julia Roberts. In the original Angie Dickinson had the part. And it was also a brief part.

Clooney and Pitt go out and recruit a crack team, some they know, some they don't. But it's a professional job and close run thing.

Garcia is in a part the equivalent of George Raft from the original. It was business for Raft and business for Cesar Romero the syndicate guy he hires to find them. But Garcia's a nasty character who settles his own accounts.

The film has got a whole lot of nice touches stylistically and cast is expensive and first rate. For those familiar with the original the irony of that ending is replaced by something completely different. More in keeping with George Clooney than Frank Sinatra.

Nevertheless I think the Chairman of the Board would like this Ocean's Eleven.

George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, Elliot Gould, Carl Reiner, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Shaobo Qin, Miguel Perez, and Livingston Dell make up "Ocean's Eleven," a 2001 film directed by Steven Soderbergh. The film also stars Andy Garcia and Julia Roberts. This is a remake of the rat pack "Ocean's Eleven," which I've never seen so I can't make comparisons. I suspect that this version has more emphasis on plot and the older one has more emphasis on the pack.

The mastermind of a plot to rob Las Vegas' Bellaggio Hotel vault of $160 million is Danny Ocean, a very recent ex-con who had lots of time on his hands in prison to plan it. With the help of his buddy, Rusty Ryan (Pitt) he recruits 9 people who specialize in a particular expertise to carry out the elaborate heist. Problems come in when Ocean, obsessed with his ex-wife (Roberts), approaches her, to the annoyance of her present boyfriend, the owner of the hotel, Terry Benedict (Garcia). He "makes" Danny by sending out a bulletin with Danny's photo to the hotel staff, which puts him out of his own plot at the insistence of Rusty. But Danny isn't one to exit easily, in either marriage or robberies.

This is a fast-paced, tension-filled, exciting movie that's highly entertaining. The plot is completely improbable so you have to take it for what it is - fantastic fun. And you never know whether something is going wrong or if it's part of the plan. The chemistry between the actors, particularly Clooney and Pitt, is great, and there is some wonderful acting. Clooney is solid as Ocean, a passionate man of quiet determination; Damon is terrific as an insecure participant; Don Cheadle, sporting a Cockney accent, is hilarious as an explosives expert; Elliot Gould is outrageous as their financial backer; Carl Reiner is excellent as an older con man who can do accents. Just as they all contribute their different talents to the heist, they do so in this movie. This includes the acting in the smaller roles played by Bernie Mac et al - everyone is perfect. Andy Garcia is fabulous as Benedict - both elegant and scary, he whispers instead of shouts and stays in control for the most part. Megastar Roberts is wasted - she doesn't have much to do.Any actress could have done the role, but I guess the producers wanted an all-star cast.

Highly recommended for blockbuster entertainment value and star power. Just don't look for it to be realistic.

There is just something about this movie that makes it so great. There's nothing truly outstanding about any one aspect of the movie; nothing that will blow you away. However, everything is put together perfectly.

Personally, I have a theory that any movie that absolutely blows you away the first time you see it, will lose its entertainment value very quickly. Not necessarily because the movie was not good, but because it just seems to get old too fast. This is NOT one of those movies.

This is the kind of movie that will be enjoyed countless times. The dialogue is slick, and always to the point. There are few (if any) overdone scenes and/or lines that tend to become annoying over time.

This movie flows exceptionally well. Personally, I couldn't quite figure out why until I watched the "behind the scenes" footage on the DVD. I didn't really notice all of the work they put into using as few shots as possible. The extra features on the DVD really explain it all. Almost every scene uses considerably less shots than you would think it takes to convey all of the activity going on. The music punctuates the flow of the movie and the shots extremely well.

The cast is almost all big names. It's great to see actors like Pitt and Clooney and Damon come together in a movie and interact so well, without having to be the pretty boys or bad-ass heroes of the movie.

When i first saw trailers for Oceans 11 i was amazed that they could get a cast like that into a film. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and Matt Damon are among Hollywood's elite and the lesser known actors such as Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Scott Caan, and Casey Affleck have made big impressions in other films that they appeared in. Whenever big hollywood actors are in a movie i always want to see if they're actually making a good movie or if they're just putting them together to make a profit and a bad film. Then i heard that Steven Soderbiergh was directing. By that time i was hooked because he directed one of my favorite films; Traffic. After all that time of waiting last night was the night. Opening Night with about 12 of my friends and a semi-packed theatre. After viewing the film i have to say my verdict is......

WHAT A DAMN FUN, ENTERTAINING, and CLEVER FILM. Words can't describe how much i loved it. These actors weren't in it just to make a profit they were in it to make a memorable film. I don't want to give any of the plot away because it's just too good but i will tell you what i liked and some things i didn't like about the film.

What I Liked:

George Clooney and Brad Pitt are the embodiment of charisma. I'm a straight male but there is no denying that these guys possess a lot of style and charm. Not to mention talent. I've always enjoyed George Clooney as an actor and with each film he does he becomes an even better actor. i've always been a fan of Brad Pitt as well. He's just seems like an everyday guy in his films. Very natural and laid back. He's truly at home in this role.

The supporting cast is uniformily good. To see Julia Roberts in a supporting role was odd at first but even in the few scenes she's in you can't deny that the girl has talent. Her scenes with Clooney are priceless. The dialouge in these scenes are suitably sassy and snappy. Don Cheadle and Bernie Mac making a lasting impression as well. Don Cheadle is becoming one of my favorite actors and Mac is obviously on his way with this film and his own hit TV show. Matt Damon is good in his role and his chemistry with Clooney during the last act provides us with some truly entertaining and hilarious moments. Andy Garcia makes for a truly suave villian in the film. I haven't seen him in much lately which is quite a shame because he's a wonderful actor. Scott caan and Casey Affleck are a dynamic duo. They provide some of the most hilarious moments in the film and it's because of their off-beat chemistry.

Soderbergh is a wonderful filmmaker. He has an obvious love of films and this aids him in making good movies. He knows all the tricks of the trade and he uses them throughout the film. Subtle things are also down through the use of music. Images fly over a hip soundtrack that give the film an edge. This is especially certain during the final few scenes. Soderbergh is probably one of the best directors of our generation.

Vegas is a pretty interesting back-drop for everything that goes on. Vegas is basically another character in the film and through Soderbergh's work on the film he gives it a life of its own.

The final half of the film is outstanding. So much is going on yet the story flows at a nice pace so we know what is exactly going on.

What I didn't Like:

I tihnk i only disliked one thing about this film. Some of the dialouge was a bit cheesy but what film doesn't have that. My major gripe in the film was Julia's lack of screentime. She's good in the scenes that she's in but because her character isn't well developed you don't really care about her plight. If julia wasn't playing her however i don't know if any other actress could make you almost care with the screentime that she possesses.

It's rare that i dislike one thing about a film. Ocean's 11 has already made it's way into my top twenty and it's most definitely the best film i've seen this year. Very nice work

9/10