Amusing trifle

Rating: 6/10 (12 December 2004)

See Roger Ebert's review for a good encapsulation of the conventional take on this movie: It is less a caper movie than an amusingly satisfying riff on the genre of caper movies. The overall plot and most of the twists don't stand up to scrutiny. But it's all just used to string together very nicely done set pieces from caper movies. The fact that they are separate vignettes not connected into a completely coherent thread doesn't detract from the craft. Just don't expect a great story arc.
Favorite scenes: - The establishing scenes with George Clooney at the beginning of the movie, in the bank and the jewelry shop, especially on the cell phone. - The scene with 3 of the 12 thinking up their next step, where Matt Damon briefly takes on a George Clooney tone.