Reality out the window....

Rating: 6/10 (5 July 2007)

Let me begin by saying that I was a big fan of the first two installments of the Oceans franchise. I loved the wit and chemistry the big names brought to their performances. I was able to suspend my disbelief because the scripts allowed me to. Just barely, but they did. Then came Oceans 13, and apparently all pretense of reality has been chucked out the window.
As expected, fate and back-stabbing brings our lovable crew together again. Yep, they all show up. Yep, their task is impossible. And yep, somehow they are able to pull it off. The first sign of silliness is the new mega-hotel where the whole thing is set. The computer generated shots make it look like a space casino in Star Wars. This is the first sign that things in "13" will be totally over the top.
The casino's security system is some superpower artificial intelligence.....no problem. Cause an earthquake! What? Are you going to have me believe that not one, but 2 chunnel digging machines will be available and nobody will notice the friggin digging going on under the damn Vegas strip?!? Heist movies succeed because there is an aire of reality to them. If you start making stuff up that is too outlandish, then the drama of the situation is ruined. It is disappointing that the script writers had to go to such lengths to up themselves...leading to situations that are completely unbelievable. Ellen Barkin looks good, but she is completely wasted. The movie struggles to find stuff for everyone to do...again leading to stupid situations.
My hope would be that the Oceans films continue...but with a more organic script that focuses on creativity and character/situation development. Clooney, Pitt, and Damon et al can carry a movie without all the grand crap that went on in Oceans 13. Put them in a situation where everything is not at their disposal and you will have a better movie.