Post by The Narrator Returns on Nov 30, 2013 19:04:40 GMT -6
You may remember my original review of Ocean’s Twelve. It was not positive. Well, the sheer number of people who swear that it’s a misunderstood masterpiece (I will not name names, but they know who they are) that I felt compelled to give it another chance. And then another chance. So, here I am, defending it now. I hope you people are happy.
What did it do right?
Well, it has a good handful of great-to-excellent scenes and lines. Of course, there’s the laser dance, where Vincent Cassel gets to show off his mad capoeira skills. But my pick for the best scene in the film is probably the coffee house sit down with Matsui, where Matt Damon seems almost eager to play the rube as his associates carry on a nonsense conversation (“if all the animals along the equator were capable of flattery, then Thanksgiving and Halloween would fall on the same day”). And Matt Damon also has the best line of the film, where he informs Bruce Willis that he saw The Sixth Sense’s twist coming. And I haven’t even mentioned the real heist, Topher Grace’s cameo, Eddie Jemison doing stand-up in a matador outfit, or Carl Reiner’s appearance as the doctor (he explains that pregnant women can sometimes be ambidextrous, after "Julia Roberts" signs an autograph with the wrong hand). It also helps that the film looks very nice, with many great-looking shots. But the film’s biggest asset is David Holmes’s score. Soderbergh is no slouch when it comes to using music in his films (just look at Solaris), but this is the best score he’s ever commissioned. If you haven’t already, buy the soundtrack. Now. I can wait.
What did it do wrong?
Ah, you’re back. Although I’ve heard people say that the film as a whole is meant to be some kind of postmodern prank, that still doesn’t excuse the haphazard plotting, in my opinion. It’s almost as if Danny and the gang were actively playing a con on you, the audience. Still, I found this element less problematic once you know the narrative, and can just enjoy everything else (yes, I am recommending you watch this film again on the basis that you can ignore the point of the movie after your first viewing). And yes, the Julia Roberts as Julia Roberts thing is still kind of embarrassing, but at least we get some nice lines out of it (like Matt Damon’s line to Bruce Willis I mentioned above, but also Willis bitching about people saying that to him). I’ll put in the category of “bad idea, executed well.” My biggest problem still is that the other members of the gang get so little screentime in comparison to Danny, Rusty, and Linus. Some of these absences are unavoidable (Bernie Mac and Carl Reiner had other commitments), but still, to make a good Ocean’s movies, you need to give Livingston, Turk & Malloy, and Reuben memorable things to do (Ocean’s Thirteen rectified this and that film’s best moments, involving the strike at the Mexican plant, were based around the smaller members of the group). And lastly, Catherine Zeta-Jones’s character just isn’t that interesting. She’s arguably who the film is, for the most part, about, but we can’t really feel for her, and we just want to see the gang in action, or more of the Night Fox.
So, yeah, once you get past the story, it’s got some nice entertainment in store. Is it a forgotten masterpiece? No. Is it my favorite Soderbergh film? No. Is it my favorite Ocean’s movie? No. In fact, it’s my least-favorite in the last two categories (okay, it does beat out Soderbergh’s Yes concert film). But, and maybe this is Stockholm Syndrome setting in, I can now see pleasures in it I didn’t before. You’ve done your job, Ocean’s Twelve defenders. You’ve made me like it, and you’ve made me convince others (who were likely more hostile to the film on first viewing than I was) to watch it again. Now send some of that love Full Frontal’s way. It gets pretty lonely sometimes.
Grade: B
Lester Scale: Worthwhile divertissement
The Soderbergh Players: The gang from Ocean’s Eleven is all back. Catherine Zeta-Jones was taken from Traffic, where she played a mother who has to take over for her drug kingpin husband once he gets arrested, and she’s recently appeared in Side Effects, as Rooney Mara’s psychiatrist and more (what this entails I wouldn’t dare spoil for those who haven’t seen it). An unbilled Albert Finney appears as the mysterious thief LeMarc, and he had previously won an Oscar nomination thanks to Soderbergh directing him in Erin Brockovich and appeared in Traffic as well. Vincent Cassel would return for Ocean’s Thirteen, as would Eddie Izzard. Cherry Jones (who plays “Molly Star”) had previously had a role as one of those affected by PG&E in Erin Brockovich. Jeroen Krabbé had previously played an ally of Kafka in, well, Kafka and Aaron Kurlander’s father in King of the Hill. Even the deleted scenes have Soderbergh players. Peter Fonda, who played Terry Valentine in The Limey, was supposed to play Linus’s father in this, but his scenes were cut, and he was replaced with Bob Einstein for Ocean’s Thirteen. And Ellen Barkin also had her scenes cut, so Soderbergh made it up to her by casting her as Willie Bank’s hotel manager in Thirteen.
Soderbergh shot the film as Peter Andrews, although he left the editing duties to Stephen Mirrione once again, who had previously edited Traffic and Ocean’s Eleven, and would go on to edit Thirteen, Contagion, and The Informant!. David Holmes also did the scores for all three Ocean’s movies, and would go on to do one for Haywire, as well as a rejected score for The Good German.
What did it do right?
Well, it has a good handful of great-to-excellent scenes and lines. Of course, there’s the laser dance, where Vincent Cassel gets to show off his mad capoeira skills. But my pick for the best scene in the film is probably the coffee house sit down with Matsui, where Matt Damon seems almost eager to play the rube as his associates carry on a nonsense conversation (“if all the animals along the equator were capable of flattery, then Thanksgiving and Halloween would fall on the same day”). And Matt Damon also has the best line of the film, where he informs Bruce Willis that he saw The Sixth Sense’s twist coming. And I haven’t even mentioned the real heist, Topher Grace’s cameo, Eddie Jemison doing stand-up in a matador outfit, or Carl Reiner’s appearance as the doctor (he explains that pregnant women can sometimes be ambidextrous, after "Julia Roberts" signs an autograph with the wrong hand). It also helps that the film looks very nice, with many great-looking shots. But the film’s biggest asset is David Holmes’s score. Soderbergh is no slouch when it comes to using music in his films (just look at Solaris), but this is the best score he’s ever commissioned. If you haven’t already, buy the soundtrack. Now. I can wait.
What did it do wrong?
Ah, you’re back. Although I’ve heard people say that the film as a whole is meant to be some kind of postmodern prank, that still doesn’t excuse the haphazard plotting, in my opinion. It’s almost as if Danny and the gang were actively playing a con on you, the audience. Still, I found this element less problematic once you know the narrative, and can just enjoy everything else (yes, I am recommending you watch this film again on the basis that you can ignore the point of the movie after your first viewing). And yes, the Julia Roberts as Julia Roberts thing is still kind of embarrassing, but at least we get some nice lines out of it (like Matt Damon’s line to Bruce Willis I mentioned above, but also Willis bitching about people saying that to him). I’ll put in the category of “bad idea, executed well.” My biggest problem still is that the other members of the gang get so little screentime in comparison to Danny, Rusty, and Linus. Some of these absences are unavoidable (Bernie Mac and Carl Reiner had other commitments), but still, to make a good Ocean’s movies, you need to give Livingston, Turk & Malloy, and Reuben memorable things to do (Ocean’s Thirteen rectified this and that film’s best moments, involving the strike at the Mexican plant, were based around the smaller members of the group). And lastly, Catherine Zeta-Jones’s character just isn’t that interesting. She’s arguably who the film is, for the most part, about, but we can’t really feel for her, and we just want to see the gang in action, or more of the Night Fox.
So, yeah, once you get past the story, it’s got some nice entertainment in store. Is it a forgotten masterpiece? No. Is it my favorite Soderbergh film? No. Is it my favorite Ocean’s movie? No. In fact, it’s my least-favorite in the last two categories (okay, it does beat out Soderbergh’s Yes concert film). But, and maybe this is Stockholm Syndrome setting in, I can now see pleasures in it I didn’t before. You’ve done your job, Ocean’s Twelve defenders. You’ve made me like it, and you’ve made me convince others (who were likely more hostile to the film on first viewing than I was) to watch it again. Now send some of that love Full Frontal’s way. It gets pretty lonely sometimes.
Grade: B
Lester Scale: Worthwhile divertissement
The Soderbergh Players: The gang from Ocean’s Eleven is all back. Catherine Zeta-Jones was taken from Traffic, where she played a mother who has to take over for her drug kingpin husband once he gets arrested, and she’s recently appeared in Side Effects, as Rooney Mara’s psychiatrist and more (what this entails I wouldn’t dare spoil for those who haven’t seen it). An unbilled Albert Finney appears as the mysterious thief LeMarc, and he had previously won an Oscar nomination thanks to Soderbergh directing him in Erin Brockovich and appeared in Traffic as well. Vincent Cassel would return for Ocean’s Thirteen, as would Eddie Izzard. Cherry Jones (who plays “Molly Star”) had previously had a role as one of those affected by PG&E in Erin Brockovich. Jeroen Krabbé had previously played an ally of Kafka in, well, Kafka and Aaron Kurlander’s father in King of the Hill. Even the deleted scenes have Soderbergh players. Peter Fonda, who played Terry Valentine in The Limey, was supposed to play Linus’s father in this, but his scenes were cut, and he was replaced with Bob Einstein for Ocean’s Thirteen. And Ellen Barkin also had her scenes cut, so Soderbergh made it up to her by casting her as Willie Bank’s hotel manager in Thirteen.
Soderbergh shot the film as Peter Andrews, although he left the editing duties to Stephen Mirrione once again, who had previously edited Traffic and Ocean’s Eleven, and would go on to edit Thirteen, Contagion, and The Informant!. David Holmes also did the scores for all three Ocean’s movies, and would go on to do one for Haywire, as well as a rejected score for The Good German.