It is widely accepted that the even numbered movies in the Star Trek franchise are entertaining; however, with the Ocean's movies, it appears that it will be the odd numbered films that will work best.
Ocean's Eleven is one of my favorite films of the 2000s. For me, everything about it worked -- great villian, hereos that you root for, fun action pieces, terrific production values, perfect tone. Everything about the film clicked to create a perfect popcorn movie.
Where everything in the first film came together so harmoniously, nothing seemed to work in the second film. To be honest, I don't remember much about Ocean's Twelve accept that the action took place in Europe, art was the target of their heist, and director Steven Soderbergh was going for a seventies sort of feel through the cinematography and editing.
Ocean's Thirteen not only returns the crew to Vegas, but also returns the spirit that made the first film so much fun.
For Ocean's Thirteen, the gang of extremely hip theives. led by George Clooney's Danny Ocean, band together when Vegas real estate developer Willie Bank, played just right by Al Pacino, cheats one of their own.
Soderbergh deftly moves things along with the help of a fairly tight script which creatively sets up the story and chronicles the heist.
As for the cast, screen time is dominated by Clooney, Pitt, and Damon. I am happy to report that personal favorite Carl Reiner gets significantly more screen time than in the previous outing.
Although not as strong as the original, Ocean's Thirteen is the best of the Part Threes already released during the Summer 2007 movie season.