NOT a sequel to Ocean's Eleven; more of a Christmas party like Love Actually

Rating: Null/10 (19 December 2004)

You can't go further wrong by walking into the cinema expecting O12 to be a continuation of O11. That's why so many people are disappointed.
O11 had a most stylish closing. Against the dream-like glow of the fountains in the distant background, Ocean's gang (10 of them) is filmed leaning against the stone railing of an open terrace gazing into the misty unknown while savoring their sweet victory. None of them speak in the enchantment of the almost moody background music. Then, slowly, one by one, they turn around and walk away. Such a beautiful ending. (The really final scene with Rusty and Tess picking Danny up at the jail is just an awkward tail). That should be the end. No sequel.
The opening of O12 pronounces loudly that this is NOT a sequel. While O11 is a crime caper, O12 is a witty comedy constructed around the frolic fun of the reunion of the characters. The scene with every 4-letter word "beeped" off by a malfunctioning computer sets the tone. This cleverness is sometimes overdone. Danny Ocean's quick allusion to his "second third anniversary" at the jewelry shop at the very beginning is fun, but to have it repeated at the end, not only once but twice, is getting rather tedious, as if the audience needs hearing aids.
The fun carries on (at least for those who realize that this is not a heist movie) and just when you think that the laughs have been exhausted, Soderbergh throws at you this Julia-playing-Tess-playing-Julia bit, which is just fantastic. You don't know how fantastic it is until you hear somebody's line about Tess not having to do much because Julia sometime just laughs in front of the reporters and doesn't say anything, and then you realize that the person standing there listening to this with a straight face is not only Tess, about also JULIA! This reality-turned-inside-out is seen again and again. We have Linus Caldwell asking for a bigger role in the caper, but Matt Damon actually asking for a smaller role in the movie! There's also referencing for those who like that sort of thing, such as Vincent Cassel's disgustingly carried-away stunt with the moving blue laser beams referencing Catherine Zeta-Jones's graceful maneuver through the stationery red laser beams in Entrapment.
Behind the scene, this is also a fun party, from what I've heard and read. It seems that the cast of O11 had so much fun making it that they just loved every minute doing it again in this sequel that is not really a sequel. To this already impressive cast is added Zeta-Jones and Cassel mentioned before, plus versatile veterans Robbie Coltrane and Cherry Jones, and even uncredited cameos Albert Finney and Bruce Willis. Although belonging to a very different genre, Ocean's Twelve is just as much a Christmas party as Love Actually was last year.