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When Eddie Izzard's Roman Nagel is having George Clooney's Danny Ocean and Brad Pitt's Rusty Ryan explain their Las Vegas-based woes at the start of Steven Soderbergh's second sequel to the hugely popular Ocean's Eleven (2001), one feels as if the Academy Award winning director is entering the deprived territory of Ocean's Twelve (2004) once more. In fact, the whole premise is seemingly as complicated as that last sentence. Fortunately, Soderbergh pulls off an engaging picture more reminiscent of the trilogy's first instalment and not the mediocre and baffling follow-up. We see the fourth wall broken - Pitt's real-life sex appeal is acknowledged as the team assesses the options in regards to seducing Ellen Barkin's villainous 'cougar' character, and The Godfather (1972) is referenced because of the obvious Pacino connection - but luckily the audience isn't presented with the extreme self-indulgent exposure of Twelve. Soderbergh ventures even further stylistically, this time for the good of the film and the franchise, as he adds hints of genuine artistic ability and not unnecessary reliance on touches from the European auteur foray showcased in the disappointing celebrity-fest of its predecessor. His enticing catalogue of skills range from Claude Debussy's "Clair De Lune" intertwined teasingly within the gang's exploits, experimental tracking shots and montage sequences paying off handsomely (especially when Soderbergh's camera waltzes across the casino floor), and even the split screen technique is utilised with a certain amount of panache to illustrate the complexity of the heist at the same time as the simplicity of the filmic explanation - an objective Soderbergh discovers with ease. It's actually quite a feat to present such an arsenal of talent when you have to satisfy the multifarious nature of the material and the self-esteem of the glorious ensemble.
Speaking of the rather impressive cast, one addition to the usual squad which has to be mentioned is Al Pacino as Willie Bank. The Bank is the mischievous mogul's new hotel along The Strip which he hopes will garner him yet another 'Five Diamond' prize for excellence. During the hotel's production stage, Bank double-crossed Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), Ocean's mentor and member of the core thieving assemblage. Consequently, Ocean's faction endeavour to steal $500 million from Bank on the opening night of his new enterprise and this acts as the main narrative arc. Providentially, Soderbergh sticks with one hindrance for Thirteen and when Andy Garcia and Vincent Cassel are reintroduced as previous adversaries, the director treats us to highly entertaining cameos from the two. Pacino and his sidekick, Abigail Sponder (Barkin), do enough to balance the feeling of a successful caper film - con the audience into thinking they maintain an impenetrable empire but also show an immeasurable aura that somewhere and somehow has a weakest link. Matt Damon's Linus Caldwell is a showstopper as usual with his brilliant alter-ego Lenny Pepperidge, Pacino leaves the usual shouting in his locker for calmer climes and fathoms huge success, Clooney and Pitt play mastermind and deputy admirably as customary, and Ellen Barkin is indeed a cougar. Ultimately, all our recognisable heroes reach their respective moments of glory, from Virgil (Casey Affleck) and Turk (Scott Caan) in Mexico to Carl Reiner's hotel inspecting deceiver, Kensington Chubb.
Of course the whole plot detail is a bit shaky and you will continually question how the team acquired a giant tunnelling machine and how they transported it to Nevada, but this sort of bamboozlement is half the fun. Obviously luck plays a huge part for Ocean's team - Don Cheadle's stuntman dance to distract Bank's glare at a computer screen is unbelievably good fortune for such a huge heist to hinge on, but after all, this is a work of immensely entertaining fiction. Soderbergh and Warner Brothers know the audience still loves to witness a group of associates overcoming the odds and helping out another collaborator - even if it involves a cheeky theft or two!
The summary
Definitely a return to form for Soderbergh and his all-stars. Possibly not as sharp as the first but certainly a recapturing of quality with effervescent performances, a script with just enough complication to result in gratification, and wonderful directorial flourishes.
