[SPOILERS BELOW]
'Ocean's Eleven' (2001)
Talk about "the perfect crime". In terms of an elaborate heist story that keeps building and revealing the full extent of the plan as the film goes on, I haven't quite seen anything else like 'Ocean's Eleven'. The way this film unfolds is something to marvel at, and is practically worth the price of admission on it's own. Fortunately, it has more going for it than just a well thought-out heist plan that accounts for every single eventuality. What also stands out are the characters and the soundtrack. Each of the heist members are distinct and memorable, much like the soundtrack is - with classical tunes mixed in with then-modern beats, as well as a funky, jazzy score that evokes the spirit of a romanticized era of film and music and thus, gives the film a sense of timelessness...if it weren't for the chunky early-2000s mobile phones, that is. But those, in all fairness, can be easily overlooked.
The movie also has a good dose of humour, but it never detours the film for the sake of making a joke or needlessly 'ruins' a serious or emotional moment. Rather, it helps to flesh out the characters and make them feel real and believable. In addition, the humour is interwoven with the dialogue, which has no small measure of wit or cleverness to it and again, contributes to improving the overall characterisation. Finally, the pacing is actually remarkably strong - even in the slower moments, it never feels like the film is dragging its heels and instead, manages to maintain a breakneck pace with ease. My only major criticism with the film is that some of the editing can be...odd. Specifically, the transitions and occasional effect such as the ever-"classic" 3D flip transition and the intentionally choppy footage in the scene where Ocean spots a potential heist member on a train. These editing choices seem bizarre and amateurish, and do drag the film's rating down somewhat.
Overall: 8/10, maybe 9 or higher if it wasn't for some of the weird editing decisions.
'Ocean's Twelve' (2004)
Yeah, this one isn't as good as the first. I know that's pretty blunt, but those were my feelings right after watching it. It's not bad per se, and it definitely has some of the great elements of 'Ocean's Eleven' - mainly the characters and performances. But what mainly lets it down is how overly tangled and messy the plot is. Firstly, for a movie that's posited as a 'heist' film, there's very little actual heisting that's going on on-screen. You only get to see some snippets of a few heists, and in the van der Woude house heist, a lot of the actual heist is just 'sped up'. Secondly, you have the romance subplot between Rusty and the Europol agent, which I found to be quite dull AND it takes up quite a significant amount of screen time. But before I rag on this film too much, there were some things I really liked about it. Like how in one scene, where the 'gang' are discussing the best approach to the van der Woude heist, they talk over each other in a convincing manner - instead of feeling like it's just actors waiting for each other to say a line, it actually sounds like a discussion between real people.
But back to what wasn't great about the movie. Much like the first, the editing was bizarre but, to its credit, less so than 'Ocean's Eleven'. The cinematography was really poor in some scenes, looking like an episode of a really low-budget documentary or children's television show. And finally, the soundtrack wasn't nearly as memorable as the first. In general, while it does some things well, it's just too convoluted for its own good and is simply a lesser film than it's predecessor.
Overall: 6/10, maybe high 5 or low-mid 6.
'Ocean's Thirteen' (2007)
After an awkward middle entry, 'Ocean's' is back to doing what it does best: engage you in a thrilling heist filled with twists as well as plans for every eventuality. But this time, it's personal. Yes, after a beloved member of Ocean's team, Rueben, is conned out of his investment in a new casino by Willy Bank and has a heart attack as a result, the team decide to make Mr. Bank pay, literally and figuratively, by making his new casino pay out tremendous amounts of money to its patrons on opening night. It's a compelling setup, largely due to the fact that I have grown to become attached to these characters over the course of three films and therefore felt an immense amount of satisfaction watching the 'Eleven' stick it to Mr. Bank. And sure, the idea of another casino heist might seem blasé to fans of the first film. But considering the disastrous attempt at a change in formula with 'Ocean's Thirteen', at least based on the critical response, it's understandable why a 'return-to-form' was made.
So pretty much everything I liked about 'Ocean's Eleven' - the heist plan itself, the characters, the music, the humour, the dialogue - is present in 'Ocean's Thirteen' and it's all great stuff. Not to mention, we get to see Eddie Izzard as Nagel in a more prominent role than in 'Ocean's Twelve' (which is great for me, 'cause I like Eddie Izzard) as well as the glorious Al Pacino in a scenery-chewing, wonderfully brash and brazen performance as Willy Bank, the 'mark' that Ocean's team is after. And the film also has the best editing in the trilogy with (almost) no weird edits at all! Although, it's hard not to feel like you're just watching an overhauled rehash of the first film. Don't get me wrong, it's still enjoyable - but it still has the impression of a rehash all the same considering many of the same elements and 'setups' are here. For example, a seasoned 'Ocean's' viewer knows when the "Gotcha!" moments are coming, so they don't have quite as much of a punch to them as they did in the first film. Take for example, the reveal that the FBI agent who apparently arrests Linus, one of Ocean's eleven, is actually Linus' father. The film plays it tongue-in-cheek with a wink to the audience as if to say, "Bet you didn't see that one coming!"...except we absolutely did.
Overall: 7/10, maybe mid-high 6 or low-mid 7.
So pretty much everything I liked about 'Ocean's Eleven' - the heist plan itself, the characters, the music, the humour, the dialogue - is present in 'Ocean's Thirteen' and it's all great stuff. Not to mention, we get to see Eddie Izzard as Nagel in a more prominent role than in 'Ocean's Twelve' (which is great for me, 'cause I like Eddie Izzard) as well as the glorious Al Pacino in a scenery-chewing, wonderfully brash and brazen performance as Willy Bank, the 'mark' that Ocean's team is after. And the film also has the best editing in the trilogy with (almost) no weird edits at all! Although, it's hard not to feel like you're just watching an overhauled rehash of the first film. Don't get me wrong, it's still enjoyable - but it still has the impression of a rehash all the same considering many of the same elements and 'setups' are here. For example, a seasoned 'Ocean's' viewer knows when the "Gotcha!" moments are coming, so they don't have quite as much of a punch to them as they did in the first film. Take for example, the reveal that the FBI agent who apparently arrests Linus, one of Ocean's eleven, is actually Linus' father. The film plays it tongue-in-cheek with a wink to the audience as if to say, "Bet you didn't see that one coming!"...except we absolutely did.
Overall: 7/10, maybe mid-high 6 or low-mid 7.
Comments
Post a Comment