| Ocean's Eleven |
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| Rating: Mixed Distributor: Warner Brothers Release Date: Decemeber 7th, 2001 (wide) Running Length: 1 hour, 58 minutes MPAA Rating: PG-13 Genre: Drama, Heists Director: Steven Soderbergh Cast: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Don Cheadle, Elliot Gould, Bernie Mac, Carl Reiner, Edward Jemison, and Shaobo Qin. |
| picture above from oceans11.warnerbros.com/cmp/main.html |
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| Plot: Danny Ocean (George Clooney) has been recently released from prison, and is planning a big job. He hopes to rob three casinos, owned by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia). Ocean has assembled a crew of eleven men (counting himself). The team is a mix of con men, technical experts, inside men, an acrobat and more. Ocean's ex-wife, Tess (Julia Roberts), is dating Benedict. The team soon discovers that fact, and realizes Ocean's real motives. Nonetheless, they do the job, with a few slight changes in execution. |
| Critique: Ocean's Eleven contains enough entertainment to recommend. Nonetheless, the film is flawed. Steven Soderbergh directs his light caper like a hard core drama. In fact, his direction and cinematography are very similar to his work in Traffic. Eventually, it comes apparent that Soderbergh needs to loosen up. For this project, Soderbergh should not include his usual off color tints and dark backgrounds, or he should use them in moderation. His style is too flashy, and is wildly misplaced. The film is less enjoyable than it could have been because of Soderbergh's directorial techniques. However, the big name stars provide a safety cushion. The film always feels comfortable because of the talented performers, and their familiar faces. Ocean's Eleven's impressive cast overcomes the film's weaknesses. The screenwriter, Ted Griffin writes a mildly compelling heist picture (based on the 1960 film of the same name). The story is never truly inspiring, and it lacks any thrills. However, the actors make the slight story enjoyable. The final product has a solid amount of popcorn entertainment, and should provide a good time for most viewers. Even though Soderbergh's direction is distracting, he is still able to create a polished product. The flaws in the film are not disastrous, and the stars can elevate the film into a recommendable piece of entertainment. The film is better than the ambitious, but muddled Heist. However, Ocean's Eleven is slightly worse than The Score, a humble, low key caper. Ocean's Eleven is an enjoyable motion picture. Its direction is distracting, and its script is mild. However, the Soderbergh still crafts a convincing product, and the big name actors elevate the film over its weaknesses. I recommend Ocean's Eleven, an entertaining film. review by supernothingman |
| 1/2 |