Pretty and vacant...

Rating: 6/10 (26 February 2005)

First off I only recently saw the remake of Oceans Eleven (not really wanting to see Hollywood try and recreate the cool of the Ratpack, cheapening the whole project) and was pleasantly surprised at how slick and charming it was. The acting was spot on, the direction and camera-work brilliant and the old story as smooth as before.
So when I heard Oceans Twelve was poor beyond belief from Jonny Ross (BBC Film 2005) I was disappointed but not devastated. Finding myself in a Cardiff cinema with my funky Free Movies card and nothing else to see, my cousin and I took the leap and stepped into the darkened theatre awaiting with interest to see exactly where they went wrong.
At first it seemed equally as good as it's predecessor. The visuals were awesome (really great work with colours and long edits) and the actors still looked like they really did know each other like the characters supposedly did.
Then, about 50 minutes into the film, it happened.
A plot swing that would not feel out of place on Ant and Dec style Saturday morning TV. The worst idea in movie history? Possibly. The next twenty minutes was cringe-worthy... absolutely horrible. And after this was over, the bad taste remained in your mouth like the bile from a recent vomiting session.
So although I feel Jonathan Ross was over harsh, he was ultimately right - this is a bad film. But only because it was so close to being a great one.
2 out of 5