Oceans 13

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06-07-2007, 01:57 PM
JasonEvans

Oceans 13

Well, I got to a screening last night with high hopes. There was good buzz coming out of Cannes and I was ready for a good flick.

Grrrrrr. Why do I do that to myself?!?!

The problem with Oceans 13 is that we've been down this road before and there is almost nothing that is new about this trip. The story itself was a little jumbled though it is not slow or dull. There is not a lot of story development, they just throw you right into the con they are working on. It is a fairly confusing con and just does not feel as clever as the first one. I am still not clear on how the gang made very much money off this heist. They certainly spent millions, even tens off millions setting it up, but the payoff for them is somewhat unclear. The clever gizmos and inventive hacks they come up with for this heist feel somewhat obvious and tired. The twists at the end are such a part of the formula now that you can really see them coming. In the end, it is just not nearly as smart as the original. For example, they "get away with it" because Ocean says to Pacino, "you won't call the police and the people you'd hire to kill me like me better than they like you." Uhhhh, sorry but that is just lame writing. Are we to believe there are no hired guns in the world who Pacino can hire? Why?

All that said, it is a TON BETTER than Oceans 12, which was a horrid mess. The actors are again having fun making this... though I thought Pacino was sleepwalking through his performance-- he isn't 1/10th an menacing as he usually is as the bad guy. There are some pretty funny comedic moments. The directing is stylish and some of the sets are nicely done. The fake casino they put in the middle of the Vegas Strip looks very real.

Among the "three-quels" populating theaters right now, this is probably the best of the lot... though that is not saying very much. It kept me mostly entertained and has good pacing. The final payoff is not what I had hoped and they do a terrible job of using the skills of all the characters in the gang. Some of them are really superfluous at this point-- especially Bernie Mac.

You probably won't be mad that you wasted your money on it if you go see it, but you won't leave the theater feeling thrilled either.

-Jason "how is that for a lukewarm reccomendation?" Evans
06-07-2007, 04:02 PM
Bostondevil

To me, if George Clooney is in the picture, it's never a waste. And if he wears a tux, in any scene, it's worth seeing twice.

But that's just me.

And about 10 million other women.
06-11-2007, 11:56 AM
dkbaseball

Ditto to Jason's review, except I can't rate it any higher than Ocean's 12. This franchise is really just phoning it in. Everyone is tres cool as usual, and I keep expecting some effect on the zeitgeist, such as shirts being tucked back in again throughout the land. But story or character development? Fuhgeddaboutit.
06-11-2007, 01:01 PM
Indoor66

All that said, I found it entertaining.
06-11-2007, 01:38 PM
BlueDiablo

If you enjoy watching shows about the "long con," check out "Hustle," a BBC show that is currently airing the 3rd (I think) season on AMC (Wednesday nights, IIRC). Each show is a separate con by a group of very charismatic confidence players. It's worth checking out, and won't cost you $10 a pop.
06-11-2007, 04:29 PM
Indoor66

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueDiablo

If you enjoy watching shows about the "long con," check out "Hustle," a BBC show that is currently airing the 3rd (I think) season on AMC (Wednesday nights, IIRC). Each show is a separate con by a group of very charismatic confidence players. It's worth checking out, and won't cost you $10 a pop.

Over the past two seasons I touted the show to friends and family. This season they seem to be getting a little too cute for me. The plot lines are getting lost in all the trappings that do little to carry forward the show. It has become soooo predictable. (It is AMC, Wednesday at 10:00 PM EDT.)
06-11-2007, 05:16 PM
BlueDiablo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indoor66

Over the past two seasons I touted the show to friends and family. This season they seem to be getting a little too cute for me. The plot lines are getting lost in all the trappings that do little to carry forward the show. It has become soooo predictable. (It is AMC, Wednesday at 10:00 PM EDT.)

That's too bad. I haven't watched any of season 3 yet (I was watching LOST and taping Hustle). I think the first season was better than the second, but not by a ton.

For some reason, this seems to happen with British TV shows. (See, e.g., Coupling, which sucked mightily after the second season.)
06-11-2007, 07:07 PM
Clipsfan

I have also watched the first couple seasons of Hustle, although I've only seen 2-3 episodes of the current season. I have enjoyed the show, although it lost one of my favorite characters (Mickey) and has resorted to too much Danny as a result. I think that another problem is that the writers only have so many cons, and they've started repeating them. The last episode I saw was even a Vegas heist, which wasn't a con but rather a theft. They've seemed to get a little off track.
06-11-2007, 07:21 PM
Dukerati

I just watched Ocean's 13 and pretty much agree with Jason's review. The Oprah bit(s) were hilarious though and ultimately swayed my recommendation from "not bad but not worth wasting your money on" to "eh, it's OK"