Ocean's Eleven

Plot synopsis:
Daniel Ocean (George Clooney), a convicted thief, is being questioned by a parole board about his coming release from prison. He claims a reason for his crime was that his wife, Tess Ocean (Julia Roberts), left him, and when asked what he would do if released from prison, there is no answer.Ocean is paroled from his New Jersey prison harboring dreams of revenge on Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), the man who stole his ex-wife. Benedict owns three Las Vegas casino-hotels: the Bellagio, the Mirage, and the MGM Grand. All three casinos share one vault, and Ocean plans to assemble a crew to take advantage of this.His first recruit is old friend and blackjack dealer Frank Catton (Bernie Mac), in Atlantic City. Next, he's off to Hollywood (breaking the terms of his parole, which require him to stay in New Jersey) to reunite with his right-hand man Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt). Rusty is skeptical of Danny's plan but pledges his support and his valuable insight. Together he and Danny go over exactly who they will need in their crew and who they will get to finance the operation. The financier turns out to be the flamboyantly wealthy Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould). Reuben is not interested at first; he says the scheme is unlikely to succeed because of the outrageously tight security around casino vaults. He changes his mind when he learns the target is Benedict, an old enemy of his.Rusty questions Danny's reasons for the heist, not knowing that Danny's real aim is to take down the man who stole his wife. Danny gives Rusty a contrived and humorous speech to digress from the topic, his secret intact.With Reuben's financial backing secured, we are introduced to the rest of "Ocean's 11." Blackjack dealer Frank Catton gets a transfer to one of Benedict's casinos in Las Vegas to serve as an inside man. The Malloy brothers, Turk (Scott Caan) and Virgil (Casey Affleck), are a humorous pair of car enthusiasts from Utah. In charge of the electronics is the anxious and jumpy Livingston Dell (Eddie Jemison). Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle) is Danny and Rusty's top choice for a demolitions man, but his other project and subsequent arrest require Rusty to rescue him from the cops, which he does by impersonating an arrogant ATF agent.In San Diego they find their "grease man" in Yen (Shaobo Qin), a circus acrobat. Then they guilt old-timer Saul Bloom (Carl Reiner) out of retirement in St. Petersburg, Florida. Bloom's role is to sneak explosives into the vault by posing as a crooked international arms dealer who needs a safe place to stash some "precious stones." With 10 people already committed, Danny goes to Chicago to recruit the young but highly skilled pickpocket Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon), son of the infamous thief Bobby Caldwell. Danny is successful in wooing Linus, and "Ocean's 11" travels to Las Vegas to organize their scheme at Reuben's house. Linus still appears reluctant until Reuben abruptly tells him to "get in the god damn house" with everybody else. Every detail of the plan is laid out for the gang, with the exception of Danny's true motive. Danny believes they can grab over $150 million from Benedict's casinos on the night of a big boxing match.The team makes camp at the Bellagio and prepares to carry out the theft. They build an exact replica of the vault in a warehouse and Linus is assigned to shadowing Terry Benedict, much to his chagrin. Linus is excited to be included in the group but upset that, with all his skills, he is given little responsibility. During his surveillance of Benedict, he unknowingly reveals Danny's secret to Rusty when he shows Rusty Terry's gorgeous girlfriend, Tess.Rusty confronts Danny at the warehouse, where Danny admits that Terry and Tess are dating and his intention is to win her back. Rusty is understandably upset and threatens to abandon the project, but Danny assures him the rest of the crew is not in jeopardy of losing their fair share of the score. At this point we see that Tess and Terry's relationship is a little bit awkward and not very close.Danny confronts Tess in a restaurant and admits to her the reason he is in Las Vegas, which makes her angry. But through this hostile interaction we can see that Tess and Danny are far closer than Tess and Terry could ever be. Danny and Tess have a brief conversation before Terry shows up to join Tess for dinner, oblivious to Danny's intentions toward either his money or his girlfriend.A disgruntled Linus ignores Terry now and starts following Danny to see what he is hiding, at Rusty's request. Furthering Linus' frustration, when the crew takes a detour in California, he screws up and is responsible for the team nearly getting busted. Back at the hotel, the team is worried because Danny has been "red-flagged" and will now be watched wherever he goes in the hotel. With his anger and embarrassment boiling over, Linus reveals to everyone that Danny is after Tess and that is the reason he was caught, and Rusty confesses to Danny that he told Linus to watch him. With Danny now unable to take a step without being seen, he is a liability and Rusty kicks him off the team. The responsibility of "triggering the vault" is given to Linus, a show of respect he had been dying for, but now that the task is actually conferred upon him, he is nervous. As we find out later, the whole situation was created by Rusty and Danny to give Linus the opportunity to play a key role.To get close to the vault -- and also to keep Terry distracted -- Linus poses as an agent of the Nevada Gaming Commission who comes to Terry with evidence that the Bellagio is illegally employing a convicted criminal as a dealer. The criminal turns out to be inside man Frank Catton, who drags out the interview by accusing "agent" Linus of racism. Terry is so eager to get back to work after this meeting that when, on the way out, Linus claims to have left something behind in the conference room, Terry leaves Linus to show himself out -- which of course he doesn't. Meanwhile, Danny, hanging around the casino floor, pisses off the thugs Terry has assigned to watch him and they drag him off to a back room to be taught a lesson. The "teacher" is an even bigger thug with whom Danny has arranged a trick: the thug throws himself around the room and makes a lot of noise to convince the guys guarding the door that he's beating Danny up, while Danny exits through the ductwork to surprise Linus in an elevator on the way to the vault.Fight Night has arrived and, with everything going according to plan, the team prepares to make the robbery. In their replica of the vault they recorded nothing happening. While Rusty, Saul, Turk, and Virgil distract the vault monitors in the security headquarters, Livingston taps into their computer systems so that all they see from then on is a peaceful vault with nothing happening, although it is not the real vault--just the replica.With everybody doing their part, Basher cuts power across the city by triggering a "pinch" -- a bomblike device that fries circuitry with a huge electromagnetic pulse. Danny and Linus break into the vault, with help from Yen waiting inside, all unseen by the video cameras. Rusty calls Terry to reveal that he is being robbed. Incredulous, Terry goes to his security center to find that nothing is happening, until the monitors switch and show the three men in the vault packing all the money into black duffel bags marked with X's. In reality, the bags are filled with fliers, not money, per the plan. (*It is to be assumed these fliers and bags were brought into the vault by the team. However, it is easy to tell that they in fact bring nothing with them into the vault. This loophole is admitted to by the director in the DVD's Special Features*).The robbers rig the "money" with explosives and split it into two parts. They threaten to blow up all the money unless Benedict lets them get away with half of it. Upon hearing this, Benedict calls 911 and asks for a S.W.A.T. team, but the team that responds, unbeknownst to Benedict, is the rest of Ocean's crew. (Livingston has hacked their phones and intercepts the 911 call.) Benedict complies with Rusty's demands knowing that the S.W.A.T. team is on the way. With half the "money" in the vault and half the "money" being driven away in a van, Benedict accepts his loss and focuses on catching the culprits by allowing the S.W.A.T. team to enter the vault under cover of darkness. In the dark, the crew stages a confrontation while they are actually loading the real money into bags. During this confrontation, the "money" explodes and Benedict thinks he has lost everything, because the van in which the other half of the money was taken away has also blown up. He comes down to the vault and talks with the S.W.A.T. team on their way out. Here he discovers that both bundles of exploding money were actually just fliers advertising prostitutes. The van was a remote-controlled decoy. He realizes that somebody made a duplicate of his vault, and that he just watched the S.W.A.T. team walk out with ALL of the money.Terry goes to confront Danny, rightly assuming that he is somehow responsible. Danny slips back into the room where he's supposedly receiving a beating just in time to meet Terry. While never admitting anything, Danny tells Terry that he can get the money back if he's willing to give up Tess, who is watching the scene on closed circuit TV in her hotel room. Terry agrees and Tess is furious. Frustrated beyond belief, Terry gives Danny to the police and he is arrested for violating his parole. Tess finds Danny before the police take him away, and she comes back to him, just as he planned. Everyone in the crew (minus Ocean), $15 million richer, watches the fountain show in front of the Bellagio to the music of Claire de Lune.Three to six months later, Tess and Danny are reunited outside of the same New Jersey prison from which Danny was released at the beginning of the movie. Rusty drives them off, everyone victorious in every aspect, with Benedict's two thugs in undercover pursuit.

Tags: comedy, boring, mystery, flashback, feel-good, psychedelic, humor, action, plot twist, entertaining

Review:
It's great to see actors like Pitt and Clooney and Damon come together in a movie and interact so well, without having to be the pretty boys or bad-ass heroes of the movie..
George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, Elliot Gould, Carl Reiner, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Shaobo Qin, Miguel Perez, and Livingston Dell make up "Ocean's Eleven," a 2001 film directed by Steven Soderbergh.
I suspect that this version has more emphasis on plot and the older one has more emphasis on the pack.The mastermind of a plot to rob Las Vegas' Bellaggio Hotel vault of $160 million is Danny Ocean, a very recent ex-con who had lots of time on his hands in prison to plan it.
The cast includes George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, and Matt Damon from the A-list, as well as such established veterans as Andy Garcia, Elliot Gould and Carl Reiner in there playing along with them.
In this film, recently paroled Daniel Ocean (Clooney) has decided to mastermind the robbing of not one but three major Las Vegas casinos all owned by the nefarious Terry Benedict (Garcia).
Be that as it may, the director does a fine job exploiting the Vegas setting, taking us right into the heart of casino operations.A film like `Ocean's Eleven' stands or falls on the charisma of its stars, the intricacy of its plotting and the plausibility of its actions.
What a tasty prospect for a film: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts and for the young at heart amongst us, Joshua Jackson of 'Dawson's Creek' fame in a cameo role -all directed by the Oscar winning Steven Soderbergh!George Clooney plays Danny Ocean who soon after being released from prison, puts together a team of eleven to undertake a robbery of the three biggest casinos in Las Vegas in an attempt to bring in a reward of $150 million.
What soon becomes clear is that it's not the money which will give Danny the ultimate satisfaction, but the opportunity to get revenge on the owner of the three casinos he is robbing -Benedict (Andy Garcia) who just happens to be the new beau of Danny's ex, Tess (Julia Roberts).Some of the gang of eleven are more memorable than others -especially the Chinese acrobat, the explosives expert with a dodgy cockney accent and the medallion wearing Reuben -aka Monica Gellar's dad!
The cast are brilliant at acting cool -even if all Brad Pitt is doing is snacking on the screen (he does this a lot!), you are still transfixed by him because he looks so good on screen.What makes the story so intriguing is the fact that Danny's mission seems so impossible: security in the casinos is paramount and the route to the reward is littered with obstacles.
However, this time around with a brand new script and an immensely prosperous cast and crew we have ended up with a film ten times better than the original.In the case of this adaption we are safe in the knowledge that the actors at least wanted to be there and that they all had fun making it.
The film is loaded with celebrities such as George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia, and Matt Damon.
Steven Soderbergh did a fabulous job directing this movie and having all the characters to connect to Danny Oceans group of 11.
Andy Garcia did a fabulous job playing Terry Benedict, the owner of the Casino's where Ocean (Clooney) plans to rob.
Each one of the eleven characters had its own story behind them and it is seen when Rusty Ryan (Pitt) and Danny Ocean (Clooney) first go to recruit them to plan this heist.
Retaining a good cast, Soderbergh has modified this movie to fit with the times, and he has helped create a very slick and stylish thriller.Danny Ocean, wants to pull off the crime of the century, by ripping off three Casino's at the same time, while at the same time settling a score or two with the casino's owner.
The plot of course has ex-con Danny Ocean (George Clooney) getting eleven people to help him pull off a heist in Las Vegas.
Really cool performances from Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia, Elliott Gould, Carl Reiner, Don Cheadle, Scott Caan, Casey Affleck, Bernie Mac, and everyone else, make this one neat movie.
Directed by Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh and starring (deep breath here...) George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and Matt Damon, this movie was sure to make Roadshow Entertainment a bucketload of money on the premise alone.
It has done so, and while it may not be the world's most original and inspiring movie, it is a solid piece of entertainment, pleasing critics and audiences alike.Clooney is the title character, Daniel Ocean, a compulsive thief who has just been released from prison.
It deals with Danny Ocean (George Clooney , though Bruce Willis was originally cast as Danny but had to pull out due to scheduling conflicts) and his eleven accomplices (Brad Pitt , Casey Affleck , Elliott Gould , Matt Damon , Bernie Mac , Don Cheadle , Scott Caan , the veteran director Carl Reiner, and Shaobo Qin made his debut , he was rehearsing with the Peking Acrobats when he was spotted and asked to audition for the role of Yen) plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously , their target?
Touching ending as the scene of everyone standing around watching the Bellagio fountain and leaving was somewhat improvised, Steven Soderbergh wanted Rusty, Brad Pitt, to leave first , the other actors were told to line up and depart in whatever order felt natural.Atmospheric musical score by saga ordinary , David Holmes .
And the plot wasn't that exciting the first time round- why on earth we needed to remake this film, let alone make a sequel is beyond me.Julia Roberts leaves me cold on a normal day, but surrounded by such a haplessly dull cast made her performance seem even less impressive- it's no great loss to the film industry that I didn't like this film as every single other person on earth loved it- but then again, Brad Pitt's a relative God to a lot of people for no good reason anyway....
Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his gang map out the casino and find a way to get down into the vault without anyone knowing what is going on until Rusty (Brad Pitt) calls the owner of the casino, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) to state the terms.
George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Bernie Mac, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Carl Reiner, Don Cheadle, and Matt Damon all do a great job.
The runtime is a little overlong and there are a few plot holes.Pros: Smart and intelligent story, good mix of humor, great acting, likeable characters, fast pacing, and a light yet exciting tone.Cons: Julia Roberts and her bad acting, an overlong runtime, and some plot holes.Overall Rating: 8.3P.S. This film surprised me a lot.
To the blackjack dealer with attitude (Bernie Mac-man) Clooney's Danny Ocean was one of the funnest characters he has had along with other good supporting guys (Matt Damon, Elliot Gould, Don Cheadle, Carl Reiner) they all were top drawer in this hip-heist film.
What really threw this movie up in the sky was it's outstanding cast, I mean "Oh Man!" tons of great of actors (and actress, Julia Roberts) from all over the place.
The plan, along with ten other experts he has roped in, is to rob the main vault at Las Vegas that houses the takings from the three main casinos.The original Ocean's 11 released in 1960 is an OK film, more watchable for the Vegas setting and the irrepressible cast of Rat Packers than for any purpose or structure.
But really it's a stretch to put George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon (all excellent here) on the same pedal stool as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin!The most striking thing about this remake is that the whole cast seem to be enjoying themselves, mainly because they are not being asked to over exert their performances from their very astute director, they really are just asked to turn up and enjoy each other's company, the result is one of the coolest pictures to have been made in the modern age.The film is purely out there to entertain, it has geniality pouring out from every frame, this is a character based heist caper full of laughs and derring do shenanigans, even Don Cheadle's ill advised (and pointless character arc) cockney accent manages to create smiles instead of being an on going hindrance.
All the cast (too many to mention) are great, from Andy Garcia's suave and mean boss, Terry Benedict, to Julia Roberts' (walking like a goddess) Tess Ocean, all things in the film deliver a feel good movie that when all put together, and all things considered, is a film made by lovers of the medium for, well yes, lovers of the medium itself!
Once you see his smug face, you can definitely be sure that whatever you buy that he's selling is gonna be the truest of fake.Now add some serious cast, including Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Julia Roberts (still in her prime), a convoluted heist plot, and enough reason to dislike the bad guy - and you'll be literally waiting for our A-Team to succeed and cheering when it does.
All shiny and sparkling, with enough fun little twists and moments of humor, with Clooney and Pitt exchanging impeccable smiles and snappy one-liners, with a sleek kingpin of an antagonist and his dumb nitwit minions - and of course with the charm of Las Vegas and its vibe of easy money and endless entertainment - Ocean's Eleven makes you feel like a spectator at a very expensive and exclusive show.But that era is over, and even the general audience is into trying to dig a film's surface, not necessarily deep but enough to expect a second layer to show itself.
Superb.It is a multi star cast film which features George clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and others the movie I must say was a masterpiece and well made and the acting makes this film even strong!!!It was very exciting and I hadn't bored in this movie in the first half I felt this movie is not good but the climax had changed my mind and also blown it!!!Overall the film was awesome and other movies should be made like this."A HEIST MASTERPIECE".
Or, for that matter, "Ocean's Eleven", a caper film which- like all caper films- preaches the message that "Greed is Good" and which- like an increasing number of modern examples of the genre- adds a further message to the effect that "Crime does Pay".Here Clooney stars as Danny Ocean, a career criminal who comes up with a plan to rob a vast sum of money the vaults of three Las Vegas casinos, the Bellagio, the Mirage and the MGM Grand.
Although the film was made with an ensemble cast, however, the film-makers managed to attract a surprisingly large number of big-name stars, including not only those two great male sex-symbols Gorgeous George and Beau Brad but also the likes of Julia Roberts, Elliott Gould, Andy Garcia and Don Cheadle."Ocean's Eleven" is a slick, glossy piece of popular entertainment- a sort of superior popcorn movie; I enjoyed it more than the rather dull sequel "Ocean's Twelve".
Steven Soderbergh's remake of 'Ocean's Eleven' is an action filled heist film about a criminal, Danny Ocean (George Clooney), who was just released from jail and close friend, Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), who gather nine other men and plan to rob 150 million dollars from three different Las Vegas casinos.
It is full of a great cast including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts and many more.
It's this aspect and this fun approach to 'Ocean's Eleven (2001)' that makes watching the film so entertaining, like an untaxing puzzle to be unravelled as it goes along, and its easy-going attitude makes for a laid-back watch with some twists to keep you on your toes and great character writing to keep a smile on your face.
Needing a team of skilled accomplices to carry out his highly ambitious mission, he enlists the help of an old friend and puts together a team of 11 accomplices, all of whom must work together to carry out the heist successfully.Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the film doesn't waste much time in setting up its premise and keeps adding new characters without slowing down the plot.
Music also carries a groovy element although it isn't anything memorable.Coming to the performances, Ocean's Eleven features a charismatic ensemble in George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts, Don Cheadle, Casey Affleck & others, with both Clooney & Pitt impressing the most.
Bringing his charming screen persona into play, Pitt delivers a show-stealing performance but Clooney isn't far behind plus the chemistry between these two is one of the film's main highlights.On an overall scale, Ocean's Eleven is an enjoyable, entertaining & sufficiently satisfying delight that promises lots of fun throughout its 117 minutes runtime and, for the most part, successfully delivers it.
The movie stars Danny Ocean (George Clooney) who is fresh out of prison and looks for a new job.
Their partners in crime include Carl Reiner, Elliot Gould, Casey Affleck, Matt Damon and Scott Caan.Intrestingly, the movie is shot in the three casinos, The MGM Grand, Bellagio,and The Mirage.This movie is less about suspense and more about the style and the confidence in which the simple, yet elegant, plan was executed.Steven Soderbergh has directed it intelligently where everything moves smoothly,the entire cast plays it cool and easy.The dialogue delivery is excellent throughout the movie.The movie will not involve and shake you much.
the cast in this movie contains household names such as George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Elliott Gould, Bernie Mac, Andy Garcia, Eddie Jemison, Matt Damon, and many others.
George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon made it easy for me to keep my eyes on the screen (I would love any movie that had those three in it, no matter what the plot was).
Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, what a cast all directed perfectly by steven soderbergh.
Only minus in this movie is Julia Roberts acting, because she didnt do really good job on it.I dont know how mtv award for best on screen duo went to Vin Diesel and Paul Walker next to Oceans Eleven and amazing cast.
A terrific cast and crew is shrunken with a great screenplay, excellent script and story line, mysterious characters, great laughs.A perfect combination of actors, and an actress, in a movie that has been done, but never seen before.Two hours of heaven.
PLOT:  A+ ACTING:  A+ ACTION:  A+ OVERALL:  A+I had been following the development of this film since day one:  director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Erin Brockovich) and George Clooney teaming up post-Out Of Sight for a remake of an old Rat Pack flick called Ocean's Eleven.
This is one of the best films I've ever seen and I don't think I'm the only one who will end up saying that.The story deals with Danny Ocean (George Clooney), a con-man just out of doing a stretch in a New Jersey prison.
Ocean's ex-wife, Tess (Julia Roberts), is currently the girlfriend Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), the man who owns all three of the targeted casinos.With such a cast of all-stars, it was worth the price of admission alone.
Led by the charismatic Brad Pitt and George Clooney Ocean's 11 has an eclectic cast who are having a great time in Vegas and it can be seen on the screen.
With an amazing star cast featuring George Clooney, Brad PItt and Julia Roberts this picture is an actors walhalla.
Wasn't it EXCITING to see so many NOTABLES all at once!" "Watching this film was so much more fun than watching TV." "Well, maybe a little more fun."First we have the MOVIE STARS: George Clooney, Brad Pitt AND Julia Roberts.
None in particular, except perhaps the fact that the casino's owner, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), is dating Tess Ocean (Julia Roberts), who just happens to be team-leader Danny's (George Clooney) ex-wife.
Just think of the 2001 Ocean's Eleven as an ordinary action comedy, and you'll still have a great time.The screenplay has a vital role in this movie's success: the plot is expertly constructed, so that it will be captivating but not too complex, and Steven Soderbergh brings it to the screen with brilliance and elegance.But what really makes this film special is the cast: every single actor is absolutely comfortable with the various roles, and even though the focus is on some people (Clooney, Garcia, Roberts, plus Brad Pitt and Matt Damon), the other members of the ensemble (including Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Carl Reiner and Elliott Gould) have their chance to shine too.
Great Fun. OCEAN'S ELEVEN (2001) **** Ultraslick feature that follows the story of a simultaneous three-hit heist in Las Vegas' most popular casinos that are run by owner Terry Benedict.
George Clooney makes an appealing comedic turn as Ocean; Brad Pitt is great as the know-how guy who eventually takes over the heist; Matt Damon and Julia Roberts are equally fine support to the film.
By assembling a dream team of today's hottest actors including George Clooney( reprising the role once played by Frank Sinatra), Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, and Andy Garcia, the movie has fantastic written all over it.
The plot of the film is to pull off robbing three of Las Vegas's biggest casinos on fight night, but what gives the film depth is the charm of George Clooney playing Danny Ocean.
The straightest arrow of the cast, casino owner Terrry Benedict (Garcia) is made to be the film most dis-likable character.The story is about Danny Ocean (Clooney), who is just released from prison.