delivers lots of shallow fun and allows the audience some 'inside joke' humor, more effectively translating this feeling than the previous Ocean's 12

Rating: 8/10 (11 June 2007)

Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon and the rest of the Ocean's cast directed by Steven Soderbergh comes back for thirds in what seems to be another enjoyably shot slick flick.
Danny Ocean (played by the elegantly aging Clooney) rallies the boys to bring down casino owner Willy Bank (played by Al Pacino), who double-crossed one of Ocean's eleven, the elderly and too-trusting Reuben.
In Ocean's Thirteen, notably absent are screen divas Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones (how can they realistically top that power tandem?!), but Ellen Barkin resurrects herself as the mature (by Hollywood standards) but sexy Abigail Sponder, Bank's second in command and the film's lone female lead. While she was obviously not meant to replace Roberts and Zeta-Jones, I'm glad they chose her; no young starlet could possibly compare.
The movie still delivers lots of shallow fun and allows the audience some 'inside joke' humor, more effectively translating this feeling than the previous Ocean's 12. Clooney gets to plug his social responsibility angle; Pitt gets to continue to eat in each scene; Damon enjoys more screen time as the eager to please Linus; while the rest of the gang pretty much lends likable support roles. Then again, Ocean's team is a bunch of affable thieves who always get what they want; their charming, sociopathic appeal makes their audience want to see them succeed.