A voluptuous Vegas vault filled with cool.

Rating: 9/10 (14 April 2005)

A fun piece of flash ripe for repeat viewing, Ocean's Eleven almost has it all. A spectacular cast, a slinky soundtrack, lots of charm, a sufficient plot, and steady direction make for a zippy two hours. Almost every actor gets to play it cool; and all of them come together to form a good ensemble. I love the music in this film. It is perfect. It fits not only Las Vegas, but the crime caper genre as well. The characters and plot may not be praise worthy, but they are enough to allow the actors and, unlike the sequel, the audience to have fun. The scene between Danny and Tess in the restaurant may be my favorite as Tess' digs into Danny have some real weight for a lite movie. As much as I like this movie, I notice everything that will go horribly wrong in the sequel in this movie as well. This movie thinks it is too cool for school as well, but I think that it is Steven Soderbergh's direction that keeps this movie alive and kicking. He keeps the demons of improbability and smugness at bay and allows the fun to happen.