The best remake of a Rat Pack film

Rating: Null/10 (4 June 2002)

2001's "Ocean's Eleven" is by far the best remake of any film; most notably one that starred the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin...). Steven Soderbergh (who obviously understood the remake guidelines) wisely took a breezy cool 1960 piece of piffle and made it even better. How? Simple. He upped the charm factor.
In this case, the charm came from George Clooney (in the Sinatra role). Clooney plays ex-con Daniel Ocean with the right blend of subtle sweetness and diabolical snakiness. His warped plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos in the dead of night couldn't have worked if at least he and his ten cohorts couldn't convince us (the audience) that they could do it. I mean, let's face it. The only way that heist could've gone down is if it was funded by a big shot Hollywood producer.
The film also ups the sexual tension by bringing in wild card Julia Roberts as Tess; his ex-wife and now seeing Ocean's nemesis Terry Benedict (the always welcome Andy Garcia). The original film was by no means a classic (and neither is this one), but Soderbergh, Clooney, Pitt, Roberts, Garcia, Damon and company sell us pretty well on this one.
Grade: A-