Daniel Ocean (George Clooney) is still itching for the life. Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) tracks down Tess (Julia Roberts) and he wants his money back plus an exorbitant interest even though he already got it back from the insurance company. Benedict starts to track down the Ocean's Eleven crew. The crew gets back together to pull off jobs so that they could pay back Benedict. However this time they are being hounded by a brilliant investigator Isabel Lahiri (Catherine Zeta-Jones).
It takes too long to set up. It would be much more thrilling to have Benedict just kidnap everybody. The setup is a little thin. If Carl Reiner wanted a small role, they could easily have his character in a hood as a kidnap victim for the entire movie. The chances are better that some if not most would just run in this story. Then of course, there wouldn't be a movie. It just rambles on and on without the excitement or fun of the original. At least, nobody said no to George or Soderbergh . The star power is the main reason to catch this movie.
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Top cast
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Reunion not as much fun
Lazy and convoluted sequel, saved by the stellar playing of the cast and the efficient direction
I enjoyed Oceans 11, I thought it was quite enjoyable, helped by the performances and the direction. However, I was disappointed with this film. Don't get me wrong, it is not a complete dud, thanks to the stellar performances from Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, George Clooney and Matt Damon especially and the efficient direction from Steven Soderbergh. However, the film really does suffer from truly lethargic pacing, some of the film was so slow I almost fell asleep between one key twist. Second, the plot is very convoluted and there are many twists and turns that makes it hard to keep up. The camera work wasn't as innovative as it was in the first movie either. Whereas in the first movie, it was smooth and professional, it was jerky and awkward here, and the music wasn't particularly memorable. The screenplay also wasn't as witty or as fun, and the film felt anti-climatic. At the end of the day it all felt a bit too lazy, despite the expert playing and direction. So much potential, but really a missed opportunity. 4/10 Bethany Cox
An easy film to watch and make, but it smacks of self indulgence
If you're looking for a light-hearted caper movie, then OCEAN'S TWELVE is nothing more – and nothing less – than that. As with the previous instalment in the series, director Steven Soderbergh goes out of the way to make this feel like a '60s movie, with a breezy tone, brisk dialogue, and sweep-along editing that carries the viewer along for some definitely light entertainment. But hey, we don't always want to watch heavy, gruelling drama, so I don't have a problem with these intentions at all.
In retrospect, it was pretty easy to get this film right. It had the chance to throw off the 'remake' tag, so could follow pretty much whatever plot it wanted. All the cast came back from the original, so the camaraderie was already there from the beginning. Soderbergh's idea is to up the stakes, up the money and make things even more twisty-turny than before, and he ably succeeds at that. This film is so chock-full of crosses, double crosses, triple crosses, and surprises that half the time is spent just keeping up with what's going on. Luckily, the cast are more than watchable, although with a huge ensemble like this, it's fair to say nobody is required to 'act' very much. Matt Damon probably gives the most earnest turn, but Clooney and Pitt are just here to trade on their charm and status, and supports like Garcia and Gould barely register. Catherine Zeta Jones plays a large part and achieves some old 'movie star' charm although I never warmed to her ice-cold character. One surprise is a nice turn from Vincent Cassel, an actor I always enjoy seeing on film, and no exception here.
Of course, the film isn't perfect. It takes a rather long time to get to the 'meat' of the plot and the opening introductions are long-winded and unnecessary, also rather repetitive. The film can also be accused of being self-indulgent, especially in the part where Julia Roberts's character ends up pretending to be
Julia Roberts. Still, I could forgive this part thanks to the fun Bruce Willis cameo, and it all comes together for the "pull the rug out from under you" ending.