CS Weekly Archive > Weekend Read > 06/08/07

Thirteen's the Charm

By danny munso

Danny Ocean and his band of thieves return to get revenge on the man who jobbed their friend out of a lucrative casino deal in a fun, engaging film that certainly warranted the decision to bring the gang back together for one last con.

Ocean's Thirteen

Brian Koppelman & David Levien

Deciding that his new partner, Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), is nothing more than dead weight, Willy Bank (Al Pacino), the biggest casino owner in Vegas, screws him out of the deal for their new luxury hotel that is set to open in a few months. Lucky for Tishkoff, his old pals Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) get their group back together to teach Bank a lesson. The gang plans to sabotage the opening of Bank's new hotel on the Vegas Strip, robbing Bank of both his money and reputation. Standing in the way: Bank's high-tech security system and staff including a special security system the boys at the Pentagon would be lucky to have. Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon) must successfully seduce Bank's right-hand woman Abigail Sponder (Ellen Barkin), weighted dice and slots must be rigged, an earthquake must be simulated. Worst of all, to accomplish all this, Danny and the gang need the help of their mortal enemy (and beau of Danny's ex in the first film), Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia).

After Ted Griffin's smooth, near-perfect script for 2001's Ocean's Eleven, George Nolfi took a pass at the sequel, Ocean's Twelve, a convoluted effort that lacked its predecessor's charm and, story-wise, felt like just an excuse for the cast and crew to hang out in Europe for a few months. Luckily for this third entry in the franchise, writers Brian Koppelman and David Levien (Rounders, Knockaround Guys), take their cue from Griffin's screenplay, and while it never becomes as enjoyable as that first film, Ocean's Thirteen is undoubtedly the sequel that director Steven Soderbergh and company should have made last time around.

Thirteen is pretty much a straight heist-as-revenge film, with the team all agreeing that their love for Reuben is the only reason to do this. Many of them go all-in, so to speak, spending all the money they have to fund the operation. That Ocean's ensemble wants to right a wrong against a friend is a noble cause, and gives the operation some emotional weight, an aspect that was missing from Twelve's flimsy plan. However, stakes are not as great as the first film, where Ocean's plan was primarily instituted to get his ex-wife back…and if they just happened into some cash along the way, so much the better. In some of the film's best-written scenes, Ocean gives Bank an out on two separate occasions, both of which are soundly rejected. Though the film is still played for fun and laughs, there is a strong personal undercurrent, which maybe should have been explored a little more than it was.

If it sounds like a downer, don't think the filmmakers went dark on us like so many other sequels have this summer. You are meant to enjoy Ocean's Thirteen quite a bit, and thankfully it delivers. Possibly due to their previous working relationship in Rounders, Koppelman and Levien give Damon all the best lines—and even a fake nose—resulting in his greatest role in the trilogy. If there's an Ocean's Fourteen, I wouldn't mind, so long as Damon's character is the centerpiece. The rest of the crew is littered with so many great characters that thankfully haven't changed a bit since we last saw them. If the Malloy Brothers (Casey Affleck, Scott Caan) didn't verbally spar the whole time or Livingston (Eddie Jemison) was anything but the nervous geek he is, it just wouldn't be the same. The addition of Benedict to the group was a nice idea, as well. Though his disdain for the group is palpable and tensions between him and Ocean are still simmering, his appearance is played for comedy, culminating in a great scene involving Oprah Winfrey that is too funny to spoil here.

Despite all it has going for it, the script somehow never seems to come up aces. One of the hallmarks of the Ocean's films is that they allow the audience to think they know the entire plan, but still keep an ace up their sleeve for one last surprise. Thirteen is no different, but the big reveal is too simple for a scheme this grand, and a watchful eye can spot it from a plot point away. Since we can already sense the twist, not only does it spoil part of the fun, but it makes the climax seem a little less epic, when the film has been promising it to be just that. Also, for the first time, it seems that there may be too many characters. Some of the A-listers (Pitt and Don Cheadle in particular) are pushed to the bench in favor of new characters that don't have the same swagger or gravitas as the original cast.

Thought-provoking art it ain't, but Ocean's Thirteen is the perfect summer movie: a sleek, smooth, stylish script that somehow feels classic and fresh at the same time. It only took a month and a half to find the first big-budget summer blockbuster that feels completely effortless.

Ocean's Thirteen
Warner Bros.
Rated PG-13; 113 min.

Buy tickets now

Danny Munso graduated from film school in 2004 and can currently be found on his computer working on one of his many half-written screenplays. Or, more likely, he's on the Internet checking the scores of his beloved Bay Area sports teams.

Ocean's Thirteen courtesy Warner Bros.

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