Tons of fun.

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2002)

It's refreshing to see a film where the principals involved seem to be enjoying themselves immensely. 'Ocean's Eleven' is just such a film. Rumor is that George Clooney got the star-studded cast to waive their usually high fees as a favor to him. As a result, he ended up with a massively talented group of actors working their way through a remake of an old Rat Pack flick, with acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh at the helm. What else do you need?
Recently paroled con Danny Ocean (Clooney) assembles a crew of eleven con-artists and thieves to pull off the heist of a lifetime: Robbing over $150 million from the vault of three Las Vegas casinos. Without giving anything away, the caper itself is imaginative and completely unrealistic - which is why it's fun to watch play out. Refreshingly, the mark of the con, casino owner Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) is no dummy. He's smart, clever and careful, and that plays into the twists and turns of the heist.
The best part is in watching Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Carl Reiner and the rest diving headfirst into their roles. They have parts that are built on style and attitude, but rarely ham it up. They have natural chemistry (especially between Pitt and Clooney - their rapport is great). The dialogue crackles crisp and stylish. These thieves aren't vulgar or violent - they're smooth and refined and almost never lose control.
'Ocean's Eleven' is a display of cool, a production of style, and a very enjoyable heist flick to boot. Well worth your time, it does what many movies fail to do but seems so simple: It entertains.