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'Ocean's Thirteen': steal crazy after all these years
The fun third 'Ocean' flick brings the festivities back to Las Vegas, where the series began.
By Peter Rainer | Film critic of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the June 8, 2007 edition
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The most enjoyable thing about the "Ocean's" movies is that nobody involved seems to take them seriously. The star wattage is immense but the stars themselves are refreshingly self-deprecating, almost satirically so.
"Ocean's Thirteen" brings the festivities back to Las Vegas, where the series began with "Ocean's Eleven." ("Ocean's Twelve" was set in Europe.) The Vegas Strip, that tribute to greed and glitz, is the appropriate abode for the franchise; it's not only the place where dreams are made, it's also where they are cashed in.
The new story line is all about revenge. Reuben (Elliott Gould), the friend and mentor of Danny Ocean (George Clooney), has been cheated out of his part ownership in The Bank, the Strip's most extravagant new hotel-casino operated by predatory potentate Willy Bank (Al Pacino). To exact retribution, Danny and Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) regroup the federation, which includes characters played by Don Cheadle, Carl Reiner, Bernie Mac, and Matt Damon. The plan is brutally simple: Break Willy Bank and his Bank.
How they prepare for this is half the fun.
A manufacturing plant in Mexico where dice are made is infiltrated, a camera is hidden in Bank's office, slot machines and card shufflers are fixed, an earth tremor under the casino is simulated.
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