Post by The Narrator Returns on Jul 1, 2013 17:41:01 GMT -6
By 2001, Steven Soderbergh didn’t really have anything to prove anymore. He had dug himself out of a hole, and come back to back films that were both critical (The Limey) and commercial (Erin Brockovich) successes. He could make serious dramas (Traffic) and pure Hollywood entertainment (Out of Sight). So, in a way, remaking the Rat Pack classic (well, classic in the loosest sense) Ocean’s Eleven was a victory lap. He had proven himself, he won his Oscar, and now he’s gonna make a pure piece of escapism. Audiences loved it, it made over $183 million in the US alone, and it spawned two sequels. And damned if it isn’t hell of a lot of fun.
Danny Ocean is just getting out of prison, as we see him at the beginning of the film pleading his case for release with an offscreen parole board (a conversation with offscreen forces is a Soderbergh trademark, and it also used well at the beginning of Erin Brockovich). Right when he gets out, he starts visiting some old friends, including Frank (Bernie Mac) and Rusty (Brad Pitt). He has an idea for getting a team together. His team includes hotel mogul Reuben (Elliott Gould), Mormon brothers Virgil and Turk (Casey Affleck and Scott Caan), technology expert Livingston Dell (Eddie Jemison), demolitions guy Basher (Don Cheadle, whose cockney accent is admittedly terrible, but not to the point of distraction), “grease man” Yen (Shaobo Qin), con man Saul (Carl Reiner), and pickpocket Linus (Matt Damon). Danny wants to rob the Bellagio, the MGM Grand, and the Mirage at the same time. The reasons are personal. His ex-wife Tess (Julia Roberts) is now with Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), and he owns all three casinos. He wants to get back at him, and maybe even win Tess back too. The heist needs to be elaborate, so the guys scope out the casino in all different ways to see how to get past the sophisticated security mechanisms. Sure, some of the plot developments can be absurd, but unlike some movies (namely the Ocean’s movie which came afterwards), suspension of disbelief is no problem. These guys are funny and cool, and you want them to succeed.
Soderbergh wisely decides to give the film the feel of his earlier attempt at escapist fun, Out of Sight. In fact, Danny Ocean is essentially the same character as Jack Foley from the earlier film, self-assured on the outside, but compromised by emotions inside. Of course, I’m not complaining, since Out of Sight is a perfect movie, and Ocean’s Eleven isn’t that far behind. The biggest complaint I can brand it with is that it starts out a tad slowly, but once the team starts getting assembled, it’s smooth sailing. Once again, like Out of Sight, the script is a major factor in this, with some absolutely hilarious one-liners, delivered perfectly by a great cast. Soderbergh aims for glitz and gloss here, in the cast, the dialogue, and even the slick camerawork. And the way he stages the planning sequences (with dialogue starting one place and finishing another) is brilliant. There aren’t many of his indie sensibilities here, and that’s fine, because they’re not needed. This is Hollywood entertainment, fluffy and easy to swallow. And that’s just fine, if the result is as good as this.
Grade: A-
Lester Scale: Classic
The Soderbergh Players: George Clooney previously starred in Out of Sight, and he would later star in The Good German and Solaris, in addition to the other two Ocean’s movies. Not to mention he co-founded the production company Section Eight with Soderbergh. Brad Pitt’s next assignment with Soderbergh would be Full Frontal, and the same goes for Julia Roberts. Matt Damon would later play the leads in Contagion and The Informant!, have a small role in Che: Part Two, and play Liberace’s lover in Behind the Candelabra. Eddie Jemison had previously made an impression as Nameless Numberhead Man in Schizopolis, and Elliott Gould would make an appearance in Contagion.
Behind the camera, for the third time, Soderbergh would shoot the film himself, and for the second film in a row (after Traffic), Stephen Mirrione edits the film. And carried over from Out of Sight is composer David Holmes, whose score for all three Ocean’s movies add dramatically to their entertainment value (with a different score, Ocean’s Twelve would be completely unwatchable).
Danny Ocean is just getting out of prison, as we see him at the beginning of the film pleading his case for release with an offscreen parole board (a conversation with offscreen forces is a Soderbergh trademark, and it also used well at the beginning of Erin Brockovich). Right when he gets out, he starts visiting some old friends, including Frank (Bernie Mac) and Rusty (Brad Pitt). He has an idea for getting a team together. His team includes hotel mogul Reuben (Elliott Gould), Mormon brothers Virgil and Turk (Casey Affleck and Scott Caan), technology expert Livingston Dell (Eddie Jemison), demolitions guy Basher (Don Cheadle, whose cockney accent is admittedly terrible, but not to the point of distraction), “grease man” Yen (Shaobo Qin), con man Saul (Carl Reiner), and pickpocket Linus (Matt Damon). Danny wants to rob the Bellagio, the MGM Grand, and the Mirage at the same time. The reasons are personal. His ex-wife Tess (Julia Roberts) is now with Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), and he owns all three casinos. He wants to get back at him, and maybe even win Tess back too. The heist needs to be elaborate, so the guys scope out the casino in all different ways to see how to get past the sophisticated security mechanisms. Sure, some of the plot developments can be absurd, but unlike some movies (namely the Ocean’s movie which came afterwards), suspension of disbelief is no problem. These guys are funny and cool, and you want them to succeed.
Soderbergh wisely decides to give the film the feel of his earlier attempt at escapist fun, Out of Sight. In fact, Danny Ocean is essentially the same character as Jack Foley from the earlier film, self-assured on the outside, but compromised by emotions inside. Of course, I’m not complaining, since Out of Sight is a perfect movie, and Ocean’s Eleven isn’t that far behind. The biggest complaint I can brand it with is that it starts out a tad slowly, but once the team starts getting assembled, it’s smooth sailing. Once again, like Out of Sight, the script is a major factor in this, with some absolutely hilarious one-liners, delivered perfectly by a great cast. Soderbergh aims for glitz and gloss here, in the cast, the dialogue, and even the slick camerawork. And the way he stages the planning sequences (with dialogue starting one place and finishing another) is brilliant. There aren’t many of his indie sensibilities here, and that’s fine, because they’re not needed. This is Hollywood entertainment, fluffy and easy to swallow. And that’s just fine, if the result is as good as this.
Grade: A-
Lester Scale: Classic
The Soderbergh Players: George Clooney previously starred in Out of Sight, and he would later star in The Good German and Solaris, in addition to the other two Ocean’s movies. Not to mention he co-founded the production company Section Eight with Soderbergh. Brad Pitt’s next assignment with Soderbergh would be Full Frontal, and the same goes for Julia Roberts. Matt Damon would later play the leads in Contagion and The Informant!, have a small role in Che: Part Two, and play Liberace’s lover in Behind the Candelabra. Eddie Jemison had previously made an impression as Nameless Numberhead Man in Schizopolis, and Elliott Gould would make an appearance in Contagion.
Behind the camera, for the third time, Soderbergh would shoot the film himself, and for the second film in a row (after Traffic), Stephen Mirrione edits the film. And carried over from Out of Sight is composer David Holmes, whose score for all three Ocean’s movies add dramatically to their entertainment value (with a different score, Ocean’s Twelve would be completely unwatchable).