Good, but not great

Rating: 7/10 (22 May 2002)

This is certainly a very visually slick movie, with an great cast ensemble. (It's fantastic to see veteran comic actor/director Carl Reiner in a role again!) The best scene is the card game early in the story, (the one that features Joshua Jackson in a cameo). It has good personality and tension and a lot of style.
I think the main problem with this movie is that it "shoots its wad" too early. There are great set pieces and twists in the first two-thirds, and then it all peters out at the end. Sonderbergh seem to fall back to his art-house roots and gives us a lot of pretty pictures and a loud soundtrack, while the plot just fizzles out and the movies cruises to the end on sheer charm alone.
I'm going to stick my neck out here and say I think the original Rat Pack film actually worked better. It saved it's biggest twist to the end, right before the classic final shot of them strolling down the street; and actually maintained a strong plot line right to the end.
Of course, both of them pale in comparison with the leading films of the genre; THE STING and THE Italian JOB.