There's nothing remarkable here, but Ocean's Eleven is very entertaining nonetheless.

Rating: 7/10 (11 January 2002)

In this eagerly awaited, star-studded remake of the 60s rat-pack crime-caper of the same name, Soderbergh manages to combine his dry sense of wit, beautifully stilized camerawork and a few enjoyable performances in a very pleasant way. Admittedly, Soderbergh ignores the fact that his plot doesn't really hold together at times, also the insertion of various catchy one-liners feels fabricated and forced on a few occasions, but all things considered there's a lot of fun to be had here if you don't take it all too seriously as some critics have. Granted, Ocean's Eleven doesn't tacklesocial problematics (nor did Soderbergh aim to in the first place of course) and it certainly isn't a masterpiece but it creates a very uncomplicated, laid-back vibe that is really enjoyable most of the time. This must be largely accredited to the dialogue which is very witty most of the time. The actors all seem very at ease and it is easy to sympathise with these charming crooks, a special notice goes to Versace-clad ex-casino bigshot Elliot Gould. Which leaves for a few minor mishaps which I will address briefly. First of all the character of Julia Roberts isn't very essential to the plot, nor is her appearance special in any way. Therefore it's a shame her storyline with George Clooney takes up so much time in the later part of the story, which concludes in an unnecessarily predictable and well rounded ending. I believe a cameo-appearance would have been more than enough and I'm afraid the scribes were forced to squeeze Roberts into the story. Secondly there is very little character-development or motivation for that matter. Also, no effort is taken to bring any nuance to the 'villain'-character of Andy Garcia, whereas it would have been more interesting to see any redeeming traits in his personality. Garcia delivers a very unremarkable performance that won't raise any eyebrows. Just don't expect Ocean's Eleven to change cinematic landscape for the years to come and you will be fine after two hours well spent.