Classy heist thriller with an all-star cast

Rating: 7/10 (6 September 2016)

An enjoyable enough crime story from golden child Steven Soderbergh, perhaps not achieving classic status but still very amiable to sit through. This remake has many things in its favour, not least in Soderbergh's direction; this is a man with the power to turn the most mundane plot events into fairly gripping, watchable drama. His film looks and feels good, reaching a classy level far above anything most Hollywood directors these days have the capability of achieving. The plot, it has to be said, is fairly clichéd and predictable, but there are one or two surprising twists and a witty script gives to some fine interplay between the characters. Of course, it goes without saying that the star-studded cast is the main reason to sit through this film and enjoy it.
George Clooney heads the bill as Danny Ocean, a suave and snappily-dressed criminal who devises the perfect robbery. The more I see of Clooney, the more I like him; in fact he may be one of the only stars in Hollywood today to recall the charm and charisma of the old school actors like Cary Grant and Clark Gable. Combining dashing looks with strong acting methods, Clooney is a real gem of an actor and it's astonishing that he began in television when his forte is so obviously the cinema. Not that I want to sound sycophantic, but Clooney is one of the good guys. His foil is none other than Andy Garcia, who seems to have been off our screens for a decade, so who now looks suddenly a heck of a lot older than he used to. Garcia crafts a cold, cold character for his casino owner, Terry Benedict, combining smoothness with menace with barely uttering a word.
Brad Pitt has a supporting role as Clooney's accomplice and is, well, Brad Pitt. He doesn't have a lot to do but he seems to be enjoying himself. Julia Roberts is the conventional love interest but I have already expressed my dislike of the actress elsewhere so I'll leave it at that. With so much of the screen time devoted to many different characters and actions, not many of the other actors get much of a look in and instead appear to be along for the ride, adding "name value" to the poster. Matt Damon barely registers as the young, smart pickpocket; Casey Afflect and Scott Caan provide dubious comic relief; Elliott Gould has aged in an astonishing way so this distracts from his acting. Congratulations to Carl Reiner, putting in a tour-de-force acting performance in a very small part. Watch out for Joshua Jackson as a card shark and Don Cheadle, whose character appears to have been influenced by Dick Van Dyke in MARY POPPINS. OCEAN'S ELEVEN is a pure popcorn movie, but at least it credits the audience with some taste, intelligence, and refinery, unlike most big bucks blockbusters these days.