Friday, June 15, 2007
Ocean's 13
Today I watched Ocean's 13.
Synopsis:
Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and the gang would have only one reason to pull off their most ambitious and riskiest casino heist—to defend one of their own. When ruthless casino owner Willy Bank (Al Pacino) double-crosses one of the original Ocean's eleven - Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould) - Danny and the gang team up one more time to see if they can break “the Bank.”
FX Review:
It's the 3rd installment to the Ocean's series, yet not quite the charm as the first movie managed to bring across. This time it's about revenge. When one of Ocean's pals, Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould) gets royally screwed like so many former (and current) Vegas players when Willy Bank (Al Pacino) robs Reuben of his share of their new casino, The Bank (a clever play on Steve Wynn and his mega-casino, The Wynn). Reuben's heart is so broken that he suffers cardiac arrest and his loyal pals return to Vegas to get some revenge.
Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his team put into play the most elaborate scheme you've ever heard of, is a plan to sabotage the opening of Bank's casino in every possible way, including rigging games for high rollers to win and ruining Willy's chances at another coveted 5-diamond award.
The scheme involves infiltrating a dice factory in Mexico (an absolutely hilarious subplot with Casey Affleck), a fake nose for Matt Damon, the seduction of Bank's right-hand woman (played by Ellen Barkin), an "Irwin Allen," and even a fake earthquake. Recapping exactly how Ocean and his gang plan to get revenge on Willy Bank would take the length of an entire review - it's complicated, yet hilarious.
Everyone on camera in Ocean's 13 looks more at home in these character's shoes than ever before. None of the excellent cast phones it in, like a few actors in other recent three-quels could be accused of doing. One interesting thing about the Ocean's movies is, while they were all good in the first film, everyone involved has become a better actor over the years. Damon, Pitt, and Clooney, in particular, have found a rhythm for these characters that works every single time they're on camera and Scott Caan and Casey Affleck have never been funnier (Bernie Mac is the only one who could be called underused in this installment).
What you come to appreciate about Pacino in this movie is how he makes this guy quite human as he runs around making sure everything is ready for opening night. The mechanics of the job are predictably and comically ornate,
The whole movie involves a scheme that borders on incredulity and impossibility, there were many scenes of ridiculous heist plots such as creating an artificial earthquake but the movie manages to mix hilarious scenes quite seamlessly together.
The breezy way Clooney and Brad Pitt (virtually a married couple at this point, going for patient walks together and finishing each other's thoughts) is quite addictive, even without understanding what exactly they and the rest of the crew are up to.
Don Cheadle , English accent still in hand, hangs out way beneath the casino's bowels . Bernie Mac runs a sham gambling charity. Casey Affleck , wearing a great big moustache, infiltrates the Mexican factory where the casino's dice will be loaded. Eddie Jemison tries to rig the blackjack machines. Shaobo Qin impersonates a Chinese high roller. And Reiner impersonates the man responsible for rating the casino, while the actual reviewer (David Paymer ) is put through a nonstop wringer of humiliating pranks . And Matt Damon , as the most hapless member of this crew, finally gets to spearhead his own very important assignment, while wearing a prosthetic beak of a nose.
But once the gig gets under way, this "Ocean's" begins to work. It may be complicated, but the pace picks up, and in slight moments the film is funny. Ultimately, if you give yourself up to its manufactured charm, it all becomes comfortingly familiar.
Overall, not too bad, but falls short of the original Ocean's 11 adrenalin rush, better than Ocean's 12, which was a complete flop. But it's all enough to make "Ocean's Thirteen" a reasonable movie. And probably enough box office to ensure there'll be another "Ocean's" just like it in the near future.
FX score: 3.5/5
6:43 PM
