Well, in it's defense I can say that Ocean's Eleven is truth in advertising- it's exactly the movie you think it will be. If you are into this kind of thing, you'll like it. I'm not and I didn't. On a list of my least favorite move genres, the heist film is ranked slightly above the Clever Comedy and the absolute bottom of the barrel, the Teacher Movie. In my large and dog-eared book of ethics, I find the fact that stealing is wrong. This is something that virtually all religions and philosophies agree with, so I have never under stood the appeal of watching a bunch of criminals going to great lengths to steal something.
But of course, if you do like heist films, Ocean's Eleven is the movie for you. It's a remake of the 1960 rat pack classic by Lewis Milestone that I have not seen and don't really want to. I can't judge whether or not Soderbergh's version is better than Milestone's, but I can at least look at this film going in blind, with no preconceived notions.
As advertised, the movie is about a guy named Ocean (George Clooney in the Frank Sinatra role), who assembles a group of criminals to rob a casino (eleven of them!). Some of them are played by stars, both major (Brad Pitt, Matt Damon), and minor (Bernie Mac, Elliot Gould) and some are complete unknowns (Shobo Quin). And advantage of the film is that you don't have keep track of them all by name for it to make sense, which is something those who are still trying to remember the entire of Fellowship of Ring will appreciate. Along the way, Ocean finds that the casino manger (Andy Garcia) is dating his ex-girlfriend (Julia Roberts). Do you think that he might be able to figure out a way to get both the girl and the money?
To reveal the rest of the film would serve no purpose, since anyone going to a movie like this knows exactly what's going to happen anyway. Aside from the utter predictability of the plot (even the "surprises" are exactly where you expect them), what I found really annoying was the humor. Clooney, Pitt and Roberts make smug comments at each other for the whole movie, and in fact the movie has a smarter-than-you tone that's grating the more the film goes on. The movie picks up a little when the actual heist starts, but it goes on so long I quickly got bored.
And in a way I was sort of offended by this film, which makes stealing look glamorous and fun. It is essentially amoral as well as tedious, at least for me. It's hard to believe that the same guy who made the resolutely evocative and emotionally honest and Bubble made this movie.
Ocean's Eleven (2001)