Ocean's Twelve

Twelve is the new eleven and mediocre is the new good. Ocean's Twelve had a lot to live up to, and in many ways, delivers what it promised to, but its emphatic lack of respect for its audience and the moments in the plot where it becomes too cool for its own good let down what could have been a well executed sequel.

The plot is relatively simple: Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) bring together the original eleven to pull off three European heists to pay back their enormous debt to Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia). Despite this basic premise, the direction of Steven Soderbergh and the wall of distraction that is the relationship between cast members complicates matters to attempt to deliver a clever and stylish film. Soderbergh is a refreshing director, like Gus Van Sant, not afraid to try out new methods of camerawork (he is one of the few directors working in cinema not terrified of the zoom function). To communicate the more intense and pressing atmosphere of the European cities, Soderbergh implements a gritty, guerilla film making style, contrasting the calibre and sheer expense of the cast involved. This is successful, despite the risk that it could all have ended up as ugly as Full Frontal.

Ocean's Twelve knows that it's slick, and does everything to bring this point home. Cool cast. Cool soundtrack. Cool. Despite this, the film remains, unfortunately, exactly what it tries to be: cool.

There are, however, some very questionable moments. For example, the Julia Roberts twist, and I'm trying not to give anything away here, raised a chorus of cackles amongst the crowd in the cinema. It's one of those moments where you stare at the screen transfixed, disbelieving. Soderbergh plays it down to a reasonable extent, but there is still a feeling that the script was redrafted solely to compensate for Roberts' pregnancy.

Clooney and Pitt share the same best friend chemistry they did in the first, born out of their close real life relationship (consisting of jogging together and practical jokes on set). Damon returns to his role as the bumbling amateur, playing against type now considering his dominating presence as Jason Bourne. Everyone fills their role in this film, although not in the same way as the first. The film has been criticised for not really using its enormous cast which it did so successfully in the first, but this is missing the point entirely. Whilst everything went right in Ocean's Eleven, very little goes right in Ocean's Twelve: botched heists are aplenty, and there are fleeting moments when it seems possible that everyone will end up in jail.

Here we come to the film's other major flaw. Ocean's Twelve rarely lets the audience into much of what is going on. Clooney and Pitt have an impermeable circle of trust between them and for most of the film the audience embodies Matt Damon's ignorance. This becomes irritating, especially in the last five minutes when everything that is supposed to roll into place doesn't, and we are left with a cold feeling of stupidity.

Ocean's Twelve is smart and very well made, but alienates most of its audience. Soderbergh does a fine job contrasting the first film whilst maintaining the quality and originality of direction that make him a vastly superior director than most, but there are some uncomfortable and questionable moments in this film that prevent it from equalling the standard of the first.

Rating. 3/5

By Joshua Morrall

Ocean's Twelve - According to the advertising, twelve is the new eleven, so it is with great delight that we welcome back George Clooney and his crew for the highly anticipated Oceans 12. For those of you who have been living under a rock, Ocean's 12 is the sequel to the star studded, crime caper, box office smash that was Oceans 11. The good news is the whole gang are back with a few delightful British additions, ranging from the incredibly glamorous Catherine Zeta-Jones to the not-so-easy-on-the-eye Robbie Coltrane. Steven Soderbergh resumes his duties in the director's chair to once again stylishly guide us through the scrapes that Danny Ocean and his pack find themselves in.

Oceans 12 picks up not too long after the triple-pronged casino heist in Oceans 11 as the plot centres around Andy Garcia's character, Terry Benedict, going after the con artists to reclaim the money hustled out of his Vegas Casinos. Garcia obviously relishes his role as the badder-than-bad Benedict and wastes no time in tracking down the Oceans 11 boys one by one. After hunting down the men who fleeced him out of millions of dollars, the menacing Benedict makes it clear he wants his money back - with interest. This mutual problem results in Danny Ocean (Clooney) re-uniting his team for another big job and with the gang 'too hot' to rip off another big time player in the States, they head for European shores and another ambitious heist.

The European leg of the Ocean road-show is, as can be expected, an entertaining affair with the boys encountering some bitter adversaries, including a mysterious art thief with a grudge, and a former love of Rusty's (Brad Pitt) coming back to haunt the caddish card sharp. Throw in a more central role for Matt Damon's character, a love interest for Pitt and a somewhat predictable, but cleverly executed Julia Roberts joke and you have yourself a fun and cool movie. The film also leaves with a few moments where you genuinely wonder how the multi-talented con-merchants can possibly triumph and as ever there are some nice plot twists and the story always keeps you guessing.

However, this movie will always be judged against the first one, and in my opinion, as good a romp as this is, it comes up short when compared to the Royal Flush of an original. The film locations are cosmopolitan; however they do not give off the same big-time vibe as Las Vegas, the home of the gamble, where suitably enough Ocean, et. al., are taking the biggest gamble of their lives. The other big factor which makes the original somewhat superior is indeed the heist itself. The big question coming into this film was 'How can they top robbing 3 of the biggest Casinos in the world on one night?' Well, sadly, they can't. With the robbery attempt in 12 being on a lesser and not as spectacular scale, which again left me feeling that Oceans 11 just has the edge over this new offering.

These gripes though, and that's all they are, should in no way detract you from parting with your hard-earned to see this movie. The chemistry between all the talents on show is again an irresistible feature of this movie which keeps the humour flowing and the cinemagoer absorbed. Also watch out for some great cameos in this movie as 12 expands on the huge star-power that Oceans 11 encompassed as well as bringing in the odd, subtle, guest appearance as well. The con itself may not be on the scale of grandeur as the effort in Vegas; however, I would urge anyone who liked the first, and anyone with an appreciation for good film, to check out this fine ensemble picture.