OCEAN’S 13: 3 ½ STARS
Ocean’s 13, the third installment of the modish crime comedies, involves an over-the-top casino owner, the giant tool that drilled the Chunnel and George Clooney in very nicely tailored suits. With style to burn and an all-star cast of Hollywood hunks, director Stephen Soderbergh returns to the roots of the franchise after the unfortunate European vacation of Ocean’s 12, unraveling a convoluted but exciting story that’s as smooth as a fine cigar.
Gentlemen thieves Danny Ocean (Clooney) and Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) are about to pull off the biggest heist of their careers, but this time they’re not in it for the money. They hatch a plan to avenge their mentor Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), struck down by a heart attack after being jilted by a business partner. With his Swifty Lazar glasses and trusting nature Rueben allowed himself to be taken for everything he owned by the shifty casino owner Willie Bank (Al Pacino).
Ocean and his henchmen (the 13 of the title) hatch an elaborate plan to crack the uncrackable security system at Bank’s newest casino, taking him for wads of cash, and embarrassing him in the process. All they need to do is fake a natural disaster.
Ocean’s 13 is effortlessly cool, a hipster’s delight of jazzy camera moves, chic colors and a la mode art direction. It looks so great you won’t realize that the cockamamie caper is about as realistic as Don Cheadle’s faux English accent until well after you’ve left the theatre, but that’s OK. If you want to get an inside look at crime and criminals, watch Court TV. This is escapist fun that doesn’t take itself seriously and doesn’t expect you too either.
Ocean’s 13 isn’t about the caper, it’s all about the camaraderie of the actors. It’s all style and little substance; attitude mixed with a dollop of humor to take the edge off and it succeeds in its effortless way in becoming one of the most agreeable movies of the summer.
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