Pleasantly surprised at the inventiveness of Ocean's Twelve

Rating: 8/10 (25 January 2005)

As a great fan of the original Rat Pack fan, I didn't bother watching the remake of Ocean's Eleven until it appeared on a dreary night on pay TV. What an incredibly boring, dull, cold, sterile, lifeless, worthless film. It should never have been made and I kicked myself for wasting my time. The blandness of all the lead actors compared starkly in mind to the great personalities of the 1960 minor classic.
It was with reluctance I traipsed in the rain (with my friend Alita) to see Ocean's Twelve on the big screen at the fabulous Delta Cinema in the main street of Ayr, North Queensland. (One of the world's great cinemas, well worth a visit).
However, I was pleasantly surprised that Soderbergh took a completely different approach to his earlier clanger. Ocean's Twelve had humour, wit and warmth that was completely lacking in his first effort.
The same pretty ordinary cast (give me the Rat Pack any day) made an effort to put some spark into their performances. The Julia Roberts sequence was hysterically funny - almost slapstick - without taking away from the texture of the film. I admit The low-key acting of Damon, Willis et al worked well in this particular sequence.
Best of all Soderberg was much more inventive in his cinematic storytelling. I have only seen a couple of his pictures, so I am no expert on his work. But it occurred to me that with Ocean's Twelve, he may well have been influenced by the inventiveness of Richard Lester. Possibly no surprise since Soderbergh's revealing and entertaining interview with Lester is a classic of film literature. The playful use of titles and imaginative camera angles and shots gave the sequel the pizazz good caper film needs.
And as for those twists - well, it added to the fun.
I was so pleased that the director took a different tack. For days afterward the one-liners, the "Amsterdam" title and the zoom shots of the prisoners being released were still playing over in my head.
Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven was like watching paint dry, only not as entertaining.
Ocean's Twelve is film-making. A fine if undistinguished film.