The script is weak but the stars make up for it

Rating: 7/10 (15 April 2005)

Oceans 12 is an entertaining sequel but the original is better. Terry Benedict {Andy Garcia} has hunt down Danny and his crew and he wants his money back with interest. Since they are too "hot" to work in the US, they travel overseas to try to get his money back before the deadline. Ocean's 11 was a very entertaining heist film and while the sequel is good its not as good. A lot of people are complaining that the plot is complex but if you pay attention then you should be able to follow the story pretty well. Some of the scenes are very unrealistic but the film is still fun to watch. The cast is all back with a couple of new people as well. My favorite is Brad Pitt as Rusty Ryan, he had a lot of funny lines. Matt Damon has a bigger role as his character wants to be more involved with the heist. Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Isabel the cop who's on the tail of Danny and his crew. She is very pretty but her acting talents aren't that great. George Clooney plays Danny, he does a good job but wasn't very memorable. Julia Roberts isn't in the film very much in the beginning but by the end she plays a big role. Scott Caan, Casey Affleck, Andy Garcia, Carl Reiner, Don Cheadle, Elliott Gould, Eddie Jemison and Shaobo Qin are all back. If you enjoyed these characters in the first film, then you should like them here. The one exception is Bernie Mac. His character is eliminated in the beginning and he doesn't reappear until the end. Bruce Willis also has a small and funny cameo. I think the best comparison too this film is The Italian Job but Oceans 12 is better. The stars seem to be having a lot of fun and there are some really funny scenes especially one near the end with Julia Roberts. The dialog is smart and funny. The direction is pretty good as Steven Soderbergh seems to know what he is doing. The film could had been better if they had worked on the script a little more since the heist wasn't as good as the first. Also their given a short deadline so it seems a little unrealistic they would had been able to pull it off. In the end, Oceans 12 is a an enjoyable film that's worth checking out now that its on video. Rating 7/10, if you expect something like Ocean's 11 you will probably end up disappointed as this ones more unrealistic. So just try and have a little more fun with this one.