The energy and excitement that was lacking in the second outing with Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and the gang, has been fixed in "Ocean's 13". This crime caper film - with some of the coolest cats in the movie business – is entertaining and fun, as the new film is spent watching their latest plan come together. The story does have a "been there, done that" feel to it, but overall the audience gets what it wants from the final film in the trilogy.
Ocean's posse reassembles because one of their own has been swindled and left for dead by the ruthless businessman Willie Banks (Al Pacino). A new casino is created called "The Midas" but Reuben's (Elliott Gould) shares in the business have been unilaterally voided by Banks, leaving him recovering from a stroke. After all his friends from the prior films have come to visit him, it is decided by the brain trust of Ocean and Rusty (Brad Pitt) that Banks should be given the opportunity to set things right, by making Reuben financially whole. Banks turns this opportunity down, and the team goes to work to make him rue that decision. And what better way then to hurt Bank's newest business venture on opening night.
"Ocean's 13" gets back to the heart of the series, by giving the audience a complicated, impossible heist planned and executed brilliantly by the best criminal minds in the world. The director, Steve Soderbergh, brings the team back together in the best way possible, by making the job personal. Whereas in the second film, it seemed the director didn't know what to do with his large cast from the first film, in "Ocean's 13" everyone goes back to doing the jobs they know best. Pacino is the perfect foil for Clooney's Ocean, intense and angry instead of calm and cool. Including the prior villain Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) as an accomplice in this film, also helps to ratchet up the stakes for the team - because Benedict doesn't help anyone unless he's got a separate agenda.
What's missing in this latest film, is the tender moments and romantic chemistry of having Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones in the mix. Their absence is explained away early in the film, but their presence is missed, since this caper and movie feels like its meant strictly for the guys. Also disappointing is the lack of character development for any of the major characters but Linus (Matt Damon), who's enthusiasm and never-ending need to prove himself, makes for the most interesting moments in the story. Damon's eagerness helps to balance out the ultra-coolness of Pitt and Clooney, who's in-jokes eventually start to wear on you.
If you liked "Ocean's 11" but didn't like "Ocean's 12", this film will satisfy your need for the series to go out on a high note. Otherwise, if you are a newcomer to the series, the film will be only mildly entertaining, since you would need a decoder ring to understand all the in-jokes that have been percolating around since the first film. Rating this film was challenging, but overall because of the quality of the production and the fun of seeing all those big stars on the screen together one last time, I decided to be generous – for old time's sake.
