OCEAN’S THIRTEEN
Ocean’s 13 (2007, Steven Soderbergh)
Reviewed by: Ramses Flores
In this third installment to the popular franchise we are once again brought into the slick and cool world of Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his group of thieves as they once again pull off a grand heist in Las Vegas.
In this film Ocean and his friends are not out to steal a lot of money in order to get rich or in order to pay off a debt, as in Ocean’s 12. Instead this time they are out to get their revenge against an evil casino owner (Al Pacino) who has backstabbed and almost killed one of the members that makes up the “13” in the title of the film. Of course their definition of revenge is to rob his casino of as much money as they possibly can.
This is the basic story of the movie but just as in the other two films the plot holds a lot of surprises and sudden twists for the audience. The film also contains all the style and charm that most people have also come to love from the series. We get the great cast, the often cool music, the interesting direction, and all the vibrant colors once again as well.
However, what we do not get this time is the confusing and often annoying presentation that we got from Ocean’s 12. The film’s director, Steven Soderbergh was smart enough to recapture the essence of what made the first film so enjoyable in the first place. It’s in very simple words: fun, fast, charming and a big crowd pleaser. This is the kind of film where a lot of the audience will quickly get absorbed into and will be smiling and laughing throughout most of the movie.
The only main flaw of the film is that we get nothing new at all from the series. This is a big let down considering the brilliant addition of Al Pacino to the cast. Having him play the villain to the already big cast of A-List actors should have been a great role for the legendary actor but instead we just get a very ordinary performance that adds nothing really special to the movie and makes it seem more of the same thing for the third time.
Having said that, Ocean’s 13 will appeal to anyone who is already a fan of the series. It’s the same thing for the third time but that isn’t really that much of a bad thing. By this I mean that we once again get everything that has made the first two films enjoyable. It’s nothing new but also nothing less. It’s a fun and enjoyable ride, even for the third time.
B
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