Overall Rating
  Awesome: 26.85%
Worth A Look: 43.06%
Average: 21.76%
Pretty Bad: 5.56%
Total Crap: 2.78%
15 reviews, 126 user ratings
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Ocean's Eleven (2001) |
by JFactor
"Oceans Eleven is simply just so much bloody fun!"

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It a remake of an apparently below average movie in the 60s, with a cast line-up that consisted of the crme de la crme of actors in that era that consisted the likes of Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. Until now though, having never seen the original at all, Oceans Eleven happens to be one of the finest efforts in a long time, in the long dead genre, that really deserves to be given a rebirth.Yet, while it would be the ensemble that more the likely attracts the crowds in the first place, it is definatly the insanely enjoyable amount of fun that Oceans Eleven delivers that they will remember long after watching.
Danny Ocean (Clooney) is released from prison, and right from the outset we are given the impression that this man is the man. And as soon as he is released, he puts his plan into motion to rob the three biggest casinos in Las Vegas owned by millionaire owner Terry Benedict (Garcia). He pulls together his team of experts for the job and set in motion the plan that should see them snag the hauls of all hauls - $150 Million. This is no easy mission, as the painfully hilarious scene where the operation is explained depicts. Even still, simply the fact that it seems impossible means that it should get done.
Well, wether or not is actually happen will have to be left for you to find out. But the movies unbelievably cool core centres around the simplest of things- the sarcastic-style humour that is delivered on cue, every time, faultlessly. Not belly aching to any degree, but delivered so smoothly that you could be convinced that these guys were the real thing if you didnt know otherwise. This isnt exclusive to the comedy though. From the beginning right to the very end, Ocean and his crew make every action they undertake look so believable. The style, the mood and, well, everything, is just so great to watch.
Clooney oozes everything out of Ocean. He makes everything in the movie look so easy and like so much fun, taking everything like this was an everyday thing. Even after the suspicion arises to the authorities that he is up to something and the crew decide that he shouldnt be directly involved, he improvises his way back into the heist simply because he didnt want to be sitting around. From the man who robbed a bank without a gun in Out of Sight, this is only a minute step up and once again proves that Clooney is the only man for the job and an untapped resource in Hollywood.
Even the other characters are pulled off with just as much credibility that they all become intertwined in the movies very essence and make it just a little more interesting. The script, while retains the usual material that the classic genre is comprised of, injects enough of its own new material into it making it more than just another heist movie. Soderbergh, yes we are finally on the subject of him, once again proves that he knows what he is doing. While his movies dont break records, they are always of high quality and are so varied and diverse that its no wonder he is the hottest thing in Hollywood. Oceans Eleven has certainly become his biggest movie yet, but hasnt lost the excellence and class that he is known for.
A huge cast, a great witty script and an award-winning director are a combination that you cant mess with. Certainly stamped with classic, Oceans Eleven is simply just so much bloody fun. It also looks like a movie that was just as much fun to make.Without relying on having to work for your attention, and its huge cast to make its money, it has plenty of time to get down to business. Right from the beginning we know that its going to be fun, and it thankfully never lets down its promise.
link directly to this review at http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=3897&reviewer=290 originally posted: 01/11/02 15:41:23
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OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2005 CineVegas Film Festival For more in the 2005 CineVegas Film Festival series, click here.
Trilogy Starters: For more in the Trilogy Starters series, click here.
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USA 07-Dec-2001 (PG-13)
UK N/A
Australia 10-Jan-2002
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