Jon Monsarrat review: solid but nothing special

Rating: 6/10 (31 March 2002)

Can we talk? Really talk? I'll let you in on a secret. I'm an action movie buff all the way. I didn't care that "Rumble in the Bronx" had no plot, or that Arnold Schwartenegger can't act. If stuff blows up, I'm happy. And I'm not sophisticated enough to appreciate dramas.
But -- I do appreciate an intelligent plot or characterization that does something original, makes me think, and when stuff blows up there had better be some good tension and great action.
"Ocean's Eleven" is a straightforward heist flick without much of the above. It's not exactly bad (like "The Score" which I found offensively boring compared to its promos), but just uninspiring. The all-star cast does nothing to lift this impression.
Who should see this film:
-- action buffs who have nothing better to do on a rainy day,
and haven't formed false expectations from the all-star billing
-- I can't think of anyone else. Arty types definitely stay away.
he film is not a comedy, and unless you've got quite a serious
crush on one of the stars, I would not go just to see them.
I'll give Ocean's Eleven a respectable but not eye-opening 6 out of 10.