Damn, this movie was a disappointment. I'm not saying that it sucks, 'cause it doesn't. Still, I really liked "Ocean's Eleven," and in looking forward to this sequel, I made the mistake that I often make, where I got my hopes up too high. Whenever I do that, the film rarely delivers. Still, I shouldn't totally blame myself, right?
To me, "Ocean's Eleven" is a very entertaining movie that just oozes "cool." It's got great characters, funny dialogue, and a story that moves right along, keeping things going at a relatively fast pace. But more than anything, "Ocean's Eleven" is a fun movie to watch, even upon repeat viewings. With "Ocean's Twelve," the great characters are there, and so is the funny dialogue (though not AS funny, nor is it nearly as snappy), but the story doesn't move along as well, and it isn't nearly as fun.
My biggest problem with "Ocean's Twelve" has to do with the actual heist. In "Ocean's Eleven," you're given morsels of information, little puzzle pieces and clues so that when it all comes together at the end, it all makes sense. With "Ocean's Twelve," they give you pieces of the puzzle, but the pieces are either insignificant or deceptive, keeping the audience totally outta the loop, so when it all comes together at the end, it seems like a cop-out. I didn't like that at all.
The entire cast is back, and that's saying a lot considering how big some of the names are. There are the A-listers like George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, and Matt Damon, as well as the ones who are close to the A-list, like Andy Garcia, Bernie Mac, and Don Cheadle. There's also Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Shaobo Qin, Carl Reiner, Eddie Jemison, and Elliott Gould. They're all back for the sequel, and then there are the new faces, like Catherine Zeta-Jones and rising star Vincent Cassel (he had a small role in "Elizabeth," but he's a big star in France, having starred in "The Crimson Rivers," "Brotherhood of the Wolf," and the harrowing film, "Irréversible"). Oh, and there's also a cameo or two that should surprise you (unless you heard about them already). Obviously, there are a lotta characters to juggle, and in "Ocean's Eleven," it seems effortless. In "Ocean's Twelve," it seems forced.
The movie isn't horrible, though, and like the first film, the best thing about it is the chemistry within the cast, especially George Clooney and Brad Pitt. They should do more movies together, because they have an onscreen rapport that works perfectly. Matt Damon is also very good, I liked seeing his patter with Clooney and Pitt. And then there's Casey Affleck and Scott Caan as the two bickering brothers. They do the same shtick they do in "Ocean's Eleven," and it hasn't gotten old yet. At least, not to me. So there are definitely some good things in "Ocean's Twelve." It's great when it's the characters talking, but when they get caught up in the heist, I wasn't as interested. Perhaps it's because, like I mentioned before, the audience is kept outta the loop.
The movie was directed by Steven Soderbergh (the Oscar-winning director of "Traffic," "Erin Brockovich," "Out of Sight," "Solaris," and of course, "Ocean's Eleven"), and he did some really good stuff here. I have no problem with the way the film was directed, my problem was the script. The screenplay was written by George Nolfi, and this is only his second produced screenplay, his first being as one of the writers of "Timeline." The way the story goes, Nolfi's script was originally intended to be an unrelated heist film to be directed by John Woo, but Warner Bros. decided to use it as the basis for the "Ocean's Eleven" sequel. The folks at WB asked Nolfi to rewrite the script, adjusting it for the characters from "Ocean's Eleven," and there you have it. Perhaps Nolfi's original script was brilliant, I dunno, but I don't think it works as an "Ocean's Eleven" sequel.
"Ocean's Twelve," I'm sad to say, is a completely unnecessary sequel, which would be fine if it wasn't such a disappointment. "Rocky II" was an unnecessary sequel, but it was so entertaining, it didn't matter. I can't say the same about "Ocean's Twelve." I'll definitely see it again on DVD, and perhaps after seeing it one or two more times, I'll end up liking it a lot more, but for now, I gotta say that it's overwhelmingly so-so.
Scale of 1-10: 6