"I know all the guys that you'd hire to come after me, and they like me better than you."

Rating: 7/10 (25 June 2007)

Back in 2001, Steven Soderbergh's slick, stylish, super-cool remake of the 1960 Rat-Pack heist film, 'Ocean's Eleven,' became one of the surprise critical hits of the the year. Featuring a stellar ensemble cast, the film's clever and exciting take on a modern-day Las Vegas casino heist left audiences wanting more. Three years later, Soderbergh and most of the cast returned for the long-awaited sequel, though 'Ocean's Twelve' ultimately failed to deliver the goods. Whilst it was certainly enjoyable to watch  and everybody involved seemed to be having fun  the script was poorly-developed and uninvolving, containing numerous moments requiring significant suspension of disbelief, particularly where Julia Roberts' character was concerned. Fortunately, with 'Ocean's Thirteen,' the filmmakers have returned to what made the first film so unbelievably entertaining: a selection of Hollywood's biggest stars having a crack at the impossible casino caper.
Whilst the film has shed the two female stars from the previous film  Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones  the male cast has remained relatively unchanged, with acting veteran Al Pacino thrown in for good measure. This decision allowed for the removal of any clunky love stories from the storyline, keeping the writers (Brian Koppelman and David Levien, both new to the franchise) focused on what is important to the plot. It also allows for some highly amusing man-to-man banter between Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) about the troubles of relationships, the best one featuring Rusty's quirky pancake anecdote. The plot of the film is perhaps more elaborate than you might expect (you could easily lose track of some elements of the story if you're not paying attention), but each of the actors looks as though they are enjoying themselves, and, ultimately, we're enjoying it as well.
The film begins when one of Danny's original team  mentor and father-figure, Rueben (Elliott Gould)  suffers a heart attack after being betrayed in a business deal by the ruthless, scheming casino owner Willie Bank (Al Pacino). Thirsting for revenge, Danny rallies his loyal troops, and they set about shattering Banks' hopes and dreams on the opening night of his slick and expensive new casino, The Bank. It doesn't matter if the team wins any money, as long as Bank loses out. Danny and his men hatch an extravagant plan to get their retribution, and success will depend entirely on their own resourcefulness and cunning. What are the odds of getting even? Thirteen to one.
George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Al Pacino, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Carl Reiner Forgive me for being repetitive, but that is one hell of a cast! Each of the actors understands that the film works best when the characters don't take themselves too seriously, and so their laid-back approach makes their exploits twice as enjoyable. The snappy script is jam-packed with highly-quotable one-liners, and George Clooney, in particular, relishes his sparkling dialogue, delivering it with the suaveness of an Ian Fleming character. Watch out for two clear stand-out scenes in the film: the first featuring a worker's strike at a dice factory in Mexico, and the second involving a very unique episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show. All in all, 'Ocean's Thirteen' is a very entertaining thumbs up.