Year:
2001
Studio:
Warner Brothers/Village Roadshow Pictures
Movie:
3/5
DVD:
3/5
Ocean's Eleven is a remake of the 1960 Brat Pack movie of the same
name. George Clooney stars as Danny Ocean, a thief, liar, con man, who
has just been released from prison. He immediately his friend and
sometime partner Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) with a plan: Danny wants to rob
three casinos owned by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia). It's a bold,
almost reckless plan, requiring people with nothing to lose. In fact,
it will require a team of eleven.
The next part of the movie is spent recruiting the team. Reuben
Tishkoff (Elliot Gould) to provide the funding, Frank Catton (Bernie
Mac) as the inside man, Turk (Scott Caan) and Virgil (Casey Affleck)
Malloy for muscle and robotics, Livingston Dell (Eddie Jemison) the
computer whiz, Saul Bloom (Carl Reiner) the veteran con man, Basher
Tarr (Don Cheadle) the explosives expert, Yen (Shaobo Qin) the grease
man, and Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon) the rookie pickpocket.
The big complication comes in the form of Tess (Julia Roberts). She is
Danny's ex-wife and is now in a relationship with Benedict. Really, she
is why Danny is targeting Benedict's casinos, which is rather dangerous
because Benedict is a man who not only goes after you but also goes
after your friends and family. Danny's emotional involvement threatens
to blow the whole operation.
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Ocean's Eleven
is an elaborate heist movie. It's also a movie with eleven characters,
all of whom get their own moments in the spotlight. It's a complicated
juggling act which is both part of the charm of the movie and a bit of
a curse. Overall though it is a movie focusing on Clooney, Pitt, Damon
and Garcia.
The movie has the feel of the 1960's. It's also not a "tight" movie --
I think that at times it rambles a bit. My favorite part is near the
end when the whole gang is watching the water works and silently and
slowly they drift apart and go their separate ways.
There are two commentary tracks. An actor's commentary with Damon,
Garcia and Pitt is rather sparse and only occasionally interesting. The
second commentary with director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Ted
Griffin is better though still a bit unsatisfying. There is also a
15-minute behind the scenes featurette.
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