Who is friend #13 anyway?

Rating: 8/10 (9 June 2007)

What happens when your sequel to a highly successful heist caper delivers a plot twist so unappealing it makes Carrot Top look like Brad Pitt? Go back to the basics. Start from the top, check and see just what made the original so much better and entertaining. Nonetheless, this is what happens with the third installment, and ultimately delivers. Using an excellent staff, quirky camera work, plenty of subtle and unsubtle humor, decent soundtrack, and lack of drama (that was all-too-present in Ocean's Twelve), the third part of this surprise hit trilogy actually holds up well against the original while easily surpassing the sequel. While the lack of women may be a bit of a downer, it could be for the best of the movieand for the men after all it does take place in Las Vegas.
After being able to pay off all their debts and whatnot, their next heist has to do with revenge above anything else. After one of the Ocean squad gets ripped off and loses almost all his money to the egotistical and powerful casino owner Willy Bank, the rest of the crew seeks revenge as Bank's latest casino is about to open. Using high-tech gadgets, seduction, and even the help of former enemies, Ocean and the crew attempt to destroy West's opening night by making millions upon millions of dollars for them and other people in a matter of five minutes. While the plot isn't exactly the most believable out there, it doesn't distract from the overall experience.
Ocean's 13 is all about the cast of characters, their chemistry together, and their interactions with each other. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon are the main three in terms of screen time and also in terms of performance. Clooney and Pitt carry this aura of smoothness and sophisticated style that not everyone in the Hollywood world has. Helping the pack is Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Carl Reiner, Casey Affleck, Bernie Mac, and more. Rounding out the cast is yet another great performance from the excellent Al Pacino as the villain getting what he deserves, and then Andy Garcia whom was the villain from the previous two heist movies.
The budget here is not spent on explosions, monsters, or extensive use of CGI, but instead on expensive yet jaw-dropping sets and props. The casino looked magnificent from the inside and from the outside, as well as pretty much every place in the entire movie (with the exception of Mexico, but you'll see why). In the meantime, returning director Steven Soderbergh gleefully plays and toys with the camera with different angles, different kinds of shots, wide variety of lengths of shots, and even borrowing a technique that was made famous in Fight Club. While its nothing experimental, Soderbergh does a good job showcasing a story using a variety of techniques so the movie never even considers looking stale. Completing the directing is a sort of old-school vibe that accompanies the soundtrack. It begins to look so dated that you might expect even Sinatra to make an appearance.
Pacing is what is a turn-off for some moviegoers, and pretty much what destroyed Ocean's 12 (despite the unforgivable plot). Unlike recent third installments, the pacing here remains consistent, and for the most part works well. The majority of Ocean's 13 is setting up the grand scheme, which ranges from an underground bunker in Nevada to a factory in Mexico. The third act is when the plan starts getting off the ground, and the payoff is definitely great for the audience and the lucky cast of gamblers unaware of what is about to unfold.
Bottom Line: Despite some missing members of before (where'd all the women go?) Ocean's 13 is slick, stylish, fun, and everything that made the original a surprise smash. The chemistry among the crew remains intact, but now we have a better story to follow, and a better heist to capture on film. Capturing all the glee is Soderbergh, who once again excels in putting his distinct methods of film-making to good use as he contributes a dosage of style, pizazz and old-school flavor to the movie. The ending leaves the door open for more, and as long as they remain as entertaining as this, why shouldn't we continue the series? Clooney, Damon, and especially Brad Pitt seem to have a lot of fun robbing people and screwing around. Whatever happened to the good-ol' days of classic, one-track storytelling anyway?