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Ocean’s
Thirteen***1/2
*ing: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Al
Pacino, Matt Damon, Ellen Barker, Bernie Mac, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle,
Shaobo Qin, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Carl Reiner and Elliott Gould
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
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Ocean’s
Eleven was a perfect heist film. Its sequel fell short despite the
beautiful locations and lovely, glamorous women like Julia Roberts
and Catherine-Zeta Jones. With Ocean’s Thirteen, Steven Soderbergh
has made definite amends and it is visible throughout the coherent
script, hilarious moments and slick action all over again.
The result is a very cool and entertaining film. With the last film,
one was sure that the boys will not possibly return to steal again.
But this time, it is out of friendship.
Danny Ocean (George
Clooney) and gang reunite to take revenge for their old ‘stealing’
buddy Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould). Rueben goes and forms a partnership
with a vicious, slimy and nasty casino tycoon Willie Bank (Al Pacino).
Willie conveniently dumps Rueben out of the partnership of the Hotel
and the Ocean gang can’t stand that.
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On the opening night, they want everything to go wrong and that means,
stealing big and stealing fast, rigging tables and joining hands with
their old time enemy Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia). Thus begins another
round of heist…
The good news is that this is nothing like Ocean’s Twelve. It’s
smart, it’s quick and it is not confusing.
One reason why the film works is because of its humour. It is not
slapstick comedy but sarcastic, dry humour that Clooney and Pitt are
just so good at. In one scene as Rusty (Brad Pitt) walks into Danny’s
room, he finds him sniffling and he asks with a look of disbelief
and subtle mockery, “Are you watching Oprah?” Watching
Oprah and crying isn’t something a cool dude like Danny would
admit to but when caught he looks confused and it makes for a hilarious
moment. Such scenes provide comin relief throughout the film.
The film works not just because of its coherent script but its huge
cast that has collectively delivered stellar performances.
George Clooney and Brad Pitt lead the way here and they both are just
such smooth operators. No matter what happens, these guys never lose
their cool. They would be able to give James Bond a run for his money.
They move in mysterious ways and really, these two are the stars of
the show. Matt Damon as Linus has gained more confidence since the
first two films. From an insecure, somewhat goofy follower, he has
developed a personality of his own here and it works superbly. Bernie
Mac, Don Cheadle, Shaobo Qin, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan and Carl Reiner
continue their magic as the grand robbers and prove to be highly effective
and entertaining in their supportive role.
As for the two new additions, they bring a refreshing change of pace
in the film. Al Pacino as nasty Willie Bank is brilliant. He is, as
always, at the top of his game. The godfather hardly ever disappoints.
In this film he rocks. As for Ellen Barker, as his right-hand woman
she is fantastic. Shrewd, calculative and manipulative, she delivers
an ace performance.
On the flipside, the no-reference to Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt respectively
does leave one wondering where they are and why the women who were
the premise in the first two films have been left out.
One thing is for sure: Ocean’s Thirteen is a boys-out film and
they work lethally in this combination.
This year is sequel year for Hollywood and Ocean’s Thirteen
is the latest addition. Within its first week, the film has raked
in 37.1 million dollars and is going strong against Fantastic Four:
Rise of the Sliver Surfer and Evan Almighty.
While the film isn’t as refreshing as the first one, it is still
enjoyable… with popcorn of course. So grab a copy now!
--Maheen Sabeeh
*YUCK
**WHATEVER
***GOOD
****SUPER
*****AWESOME
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