Entertaining simplicity with lots of little twists

Rating: 8/10 (13 March 2005)

After seeing this movie, which had me leaving the theatre in a very happy mood, I thought about writing a review for this site. So first I looked at the opinions of other people. And those caused me to scratch my head a lot. 'Drab European scenery'. 'All star cast just there to show off they're an all star cast'. 'Weird camera shots'. 'No plot'. 'The biggest heist is the fact that they've stolen my money'. 'Sequel, whaddayaexpect?' 'Horrible'. Etcetera.
Erk. Are we talking about the same movie here? Somehow I get the impression people were thinking: well, Ocean's Eleven was about a masterful heist, so Ocean's Twelve must be about an even bigger one. Or perhaps they were expecting another Ocean's Eleven. But then it would have been called Ocean's Eleven 2, wouldn't it? Fact is, Ocean's Twelve is called Ocean's Twelve, and that might have been a subtle hint. Now, for the record, I have not seen Ocean's Eleven, so perhaps my view is a bit skewed. On the other hand, I am not burdened by the knowledge 'what happened before' and could just concentrate on the current installment instead.
Short outline of the plot: somehow the victim (shady owner of a casino) of the Ocean's Eleven heist manages to locate the members of the team and threatens to kill them if they don't pay up the money they stole. With a fat interest, of course. No one has that kind money of money laying around, so the team needs another heist. But in the backs of their minds there is the nagging question: how did the owner of the casino find them all? As it turns out, while executing a small-paying robbery in Amsterdam to secure a big, fat-paying assignment (which would still not cover for the entire amount they owned, hinthint!), they were outsmarted by someone called the Night Fox, the most infamous crook alive. And it is precisely this Night Fox who, thanks to his conceited ego and careless remarks made by his mentor about who the biggest crook alive is, wants to take on Ocean's Eleven/Twelve team in a duel. Their goal: stealing a FabergÃ© egg. If the Night Fox wins, he will go down as the greatest crook alive. If Ocean's team wins, the Night Fox will pay the debt. Now of course the Night Fox is outfoxed, but how and where is something I'm not going to tell.
If your first response to reading the above is 'Bweeach, been there, seen it', my response: ah, but have you seen how that tale is *told*? There's where the fun comes in. It's, just like the title of the movie, subtle. (And you honestly didn't expect the script to be about an even bigger heist, did you?) It's full of little plots to keep your mind occupied. The director dared to use flashbacks without a single word of explanation---you, the viewer, have to figure them out. Despite their vast technical skills, the team finds it tough to deal with the powers of the weaker sex. Despite the fact that they're thieves, they have a sort-of code of honour which they will not break; the morals of the detective out to get them all behind bars are questioned when she's shown to not be above a little two-timing herself. Quite hilarious are the scenes where Bruce Willis playing himself meets 'Tess' played by Julia Roberts who is faking to be Julia Roberts. It is not often you get to see stars taking themselves not-entirely-too-seriously, but still serious enough to realise they are playing a role in a movie. And there's lots more.
All-star cast? Well, yeah. People more or less expect to see stars on the screen, don't they? Are there moments where, as one reviewer put it, a sign with 'applaud now' appears? Err, no. Except for Mrs. Zeta-Jones, who is dressed way too smartly for the detective role she is playing, they play their role, with no one really being singled out. They function as a well-oiled team with two leaders. There is no room for in-depth character development and long wow-look-at-me shots. And Mrs. Zeta-Jones is forgiven, because she is up against a team of bad guys on her own.
In the end, when the Night Fox despite his masterful aerobics is shown for the pompous ass he really is, you realise the main gist of the movie: sometimes daring heists, no matter why they are performed, are not about complex intrusions, masterful computer hacks and other tomcruisery, but about simple, sneaky plots executed to perfection leaving the other parties involved none the wiser. (Not convinced? Well, it sure made three or four men at the end of February 2005 multi-millionaires when they drove away with $70 million dollars' worth in diamonds, without a single shot being fired, from, how ironically, the airport of Amsterdam.) The story may not be one of the best ever written, but it was told with style, flair and rhythm. I was quite po'ed that I had to watch it in a crummy little theatre with chairs which were too small for me, but the movie managed to capture me sufficiently to forget about cramped arms, legs and an aching back. That, by definition, makes it 'good' to 'very good' in my book.