The Return of Cool
With the release of Oceans Thirteen on Friday we look back…
Steven Soderbergh created an almost instant classic with 2001’s Ocean’s 11. Related only by name and the basic plot of the Rat Pack original, Soderbergh proved that the easy going charm and effortless cool of bygone days could be captured on film for the current generation. Call it the anti-heist movie, if you will. Soderbergh dipped back into the pool in 2004 for the sequel, bringing back the original cast in its entirety (as well as adding some new faces), but audiences didn’t seem to warm up to this go-around like they did the first.
Ocean’s 12
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Steven Soderbergh created an almost instant classic with 2001’s Ocean’s 11. Related only by name and the basic plot of the Rat Pack original, Soderbergh proved that the easy going charm and effortless cool of bygone days could be captured on film for the current generation. Call it the anti-heist movie, if you will. Soderbergh dipped back into the pool in 2004 for the sequel, bringing back the original cast in its entirety (as well as adding some new faces), but audiences didn’t seem to warm up to this go-around like they did the first.
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Fools! Ocean’s 12 was easily one of the most enjoyable films of 2004, as it was just seeped in the unshakeable cool of the original while refusing to conform to the audience’s expectations of what should happen to George Clooney’s Danny Ocean and his band of merry thieves. Sure, you can argue that the big gag towards the end just reeks of film maker hubris, but I personally was willing to play along. It’s a ballsy move on Soderbergh’s part, and I thought it fit with the spirit of the series.
So bully on you, Warner Home Video, for putting out a bare-bones disc of a film that should have been chock full of extras. Ocean’s 12 is still great, but a lack of features makes this a must-have only for die-hard fans of the film.
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The story is the best of the three, but the script is extremely poor and requiring the cast to act against a blue screen with X marks the spots or animated creatures; creates bad techniques, unconvincing character relationships and poor acting. “Let your cast act Lucas!” When your cast includes Natalie Portman, who has proven her ability to show compassion and emotion in films like Where the Heart Is and Closer, and Hayden Christensen, who has surpassed many young talent in such films as Life as a House and Shattered Glass, how can you get a complete void of acting abilities from two very talented individuals?
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