A bit more than three years ago I went to see the first romp with this gang and came out of the theater surprised that I enjoyed Ocean’s 11, though not as much as the 1960 Rat Pack original. Today, because it was the best mutually agreeable choice TS1 and I saw Ocean’s 12 but I cannot tell you I really enjoyed myself as much.
Three years have passed since George Clooney and crew took off Andy Garcia’s casinos for $160 million, he’s married again to Julia Roberts and the rest are generally enjoying themselves to varying degrees. Brad Pitt, for instance, bought himself an LA hotel and we see he’s dealing with difficult movie star guests like a long-haired, heartbroken Topher Grace (who, you may recall, was one of Pitt’s poker students in 11). Casey Affleck and Scott Caan were probably as grateful as any of the cast that this sequel got made, and they play the goofy, arguing brothers although they’re barely given anything to do. Anyway…
Somehow Garcia has tracked down all the men who were part of the heist and given them two weeks to pay back what they took, plus interest. Instead of killing them, though no explain is given for this, and they all agree, rather than, say, try and kill Garcia. Not an auspicious beginning. The crew realize they’re short $100 million on what they owe and can’t work in America; no problem, Pitt has booked them tickets to Amsterdam for that evening, with a meeting already set with someone (Robby Coltrane, who must have still been tired from playing Hagrid) who can point them to a small but useful job.
That job’s a bust, a setup by a “notorious” European master thief known only as the Night Fox (played by a well-known European actor named Vincent Cassel). Oddly enough, our boys have connections who tell them instantly the real identity of their nemesis despite his ability to elude all the police forces of Europe for over a decade. Even Catherine Zeta-Jones, a detective on a made-up continental police squad. Cassel, it seems, was insulted by an older, father figure thief (brief cameo from Albert Finney), who said that the crew’s casino job made Danny Ocean a better thief. No, no, great wealth and an ability to fool nearly every person on Earth is not enough; such an insult cannot be suffered. And so we have our challenge.
Enough recapitulation. I noticed that George Nolfi, whose only other movie credit is co-writer of the dreadful adaptation of Chrichton’s Timeline, is the sole credited writer here. The New Yorker review of 12, though, mentions that Nolfi wrote a script called Honor Among Thieves and director Steven Soderbergh and producer Jerry Weintraub “shoehorned” it into what they needed for this movie. I am not surprised to learn this because there is little of the banter and ensemble work of the first film and instead Pitt and Clooney have major focus instead of being leaders of a group.
Further, the structure and cinematography get lost in Soderbergh’s experimentalism, a tendency he was able to put aside in 11 and Erin Brockovich, almost a game of we’re too smart for you boobs. There’s too much of a two steps forward, one step back to the whole thing, and a wildly inconsistent approach to the camera work and color scheme.
Disappointing
BillSaysThis 