Laidback Fun: Ocean's Thirteen

Ocean's Thirteen
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Released June 8, 2007

Quick preface to this review: I think "Ocean's Eleven" is one of the best movies ever, deserving of an A+, and that the second film, "Ocean's Twelve" deserves nothing more than a D+. This film falls somewhere in between, luckily far more towards the "Ocean's Eleven" end of the spectrum. The wit and inventiveness are far less subtle, yet the general style and construction of the movie returns back to that of the first film, an element lost in the second chapter. The whole crew is back, along with new villain Al Pacino and his right-hand woman, Ellen Barkin, both of whom are fine in their roles but nothing too special. Eddie Izzard ("The Riches") has a fun small part, and David Paymer gets a great role as a shafted hotel reviewer. The real standouts of the film, however, are Casey Affleck and Scott Caan as Virgil and Turk Malloy, who work so well both together and apart. The gadgets in this film are amusing and clever, but the movie has a very "you know the drill" feel to it. The amazing originality of the first film is pretty much gone, and character development goes out the door too. It is still a fun, generally mindless ride.

B+