‘Ocean’s 13′ Not its Lucky Number
“Ocean’s 13″ probably was my most anticipated film at the Cannes Film Festival. Sure, it’s not in the main competition for obvious reasons (too Hollywood), but I had hoped it would be a refreshing change of pace from all the serious cinema I’ve been watching. Unfortunately, the film is disappointing and proves to be just more of the same. Steven Soderbergh is a good director and the cast is top-notch, but the plot twists and main caper are just too predictable. I’ll give some of the plot details below, which are explained in the first 20 minutes and in the film trailer anyway, but don’t read on if you want to go in fresh.
The plot of “Ocean’s 13″ once again returns to Las Vegas, where the crew gets together to help avenge Reuben (Elliot Gould), who has been swindled out of his property and casino deal by Willie Banks (Al Pacino). Reuben is depressed and suffers a heart attack when he learns of Banks’ double cross. The crew gets together and plans to take Banks down in true Ocean’s style. They plan to rig all the casino games to give massive payouts to players. With any luck, Banks will lose millions and be forced to close the casino.
The crew hits several snags along the way, which complicate things and create some tension. However, they usually find some way around these obstacles without much difficulty, and the audience feels a bit cheated. Nothing ever really goes wrong in an Ocean heist, and this makes things quite boring.
Although Soderbergh likes to write dialogue for the Ocean gang, their gathering around Reuben’s bed at the beginning of the film feels a bit contrived and cheesy. Sometimes the banter works, other times, it’s very self-aware. Meanwhile, the caper isn’t terribly interesting compared with the first two films, and even the twists and turns are predictable.
The best part of the movie are the conversations between Pitt and Clooney about relationships and old Las Vegas, and the Malloy brothers (Casey Affleck and Scott Caan) finally get to do some interesting things this time posing as Mexican factory workers at a dice manufacturing plant. Andy Garcia also shows up in some funny scenes, especially at the end.
The first film was good. The second film was mildly entertaining — except for the horrid scenes were Julia Roberts pretends to play Julia Roberts the movie star (what Soderbergh was thinking with that plot device, I have no idea). The third film is well made, but it’s really no loss if left unwatched.
2.5 stars
***
Wayne’s star system
1 star –> avoid at all costs
2 stars –> watch on TV when nothing else is on
3 stars –> rent it eventually
4 stars –> must see before you die
“Ocean’s 13″ (IMDB)
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