Movie Review: Ocean's Thirteen
The boys are back in town! Back in Vegas that is. George and Brad and Matt and their cohorts are getting even with evil Vegas hotel mogul Al Pacino and their scheme is as colorful and clever as ever.
When Ocean's pal Reuben (Elliott Gould) is horribly double-crossed by his nasty business partner Willy Bank (Al Pacino), he has a heart attack and is hospitalized. His buddies, headed by Danny Ocean (George Clooney), decide to give him his life and spunk back with a great get even scheme that involves totally trashing Bank's Vegas hotel opening and making sure he loses big! They have to cause an earthquake (don't ask), and rig all the gaming tables and slots, make sure the hotel gets a horrible rating etc. This scheme includes Linus (Matt Damon) coming on to Bank's frosty assistant Abigail (Ellen Barkin) to keep her busy. The whole Ocean's gang is involved in the caper including the guy they conned in a previous film (Andy Garcia).
Hey, this Ocean's is really fun! Much more straightforward than the middle movie and as quirky and fun to watch as the first. The guys are hilarious in this escapade. George and Brad even get teary-eyed over an Oprah extreme home make-over segment. All the gang members have something to do that is humorous and nobody plays a villain as well as Pacino. There are a few wacky and unlikely subplots but who cares? Dialogue is clever and music is upbeat Vegas hip. The fake Vegas hotel looks amazing in CGI. The only big drawback is a lack of urgency or danger for the guys. Sure, a few things go wrong but you don't feel that "OMG, they're gonna get caught" pressure of the successful first film.
Overall, this movie is packed with good actors and is all about male bonding, loyalty to your best buds and the satisfaction of a good payback "gotcha". As Reuben would say, "what's not to like?" Go see it.
For a pretty successful return to a popular film franchise... 3.5 out of 5 stars
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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.
