Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
…………………………………………………
Ocean’s Eleven Movie Review
Ocean’s Eleven is a 2001 heist film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts among others in an ensemble cast. It’s a pretty good film.
………………………………………………….
“All right, you proved your point.
You broke into my vault.
Congratulations, you’re a dead man“
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
It’s a remake of the 1960 titular film and by far one of the finest remakes of all time. It’s not great by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s so good that it blows the first movie out of the water. In terms of the plot, it’s serviceable and of course not particularly deep and intricate which are the usual pitfalls of the heist genre, but it’s engaging and fun throughout.
George Clooney is absolutely terrific as Danny Ocean. This is typecasting 101, but it works as Clooney is simply great, very suave, very charming and cool throughout the film’s runtime. I would say that I liked Julia Roberts the best next. She’s quite memorable here and the relationship between the two is particularly effective and dynamic.
Andy Garcia is okay, if unremarkable. I mean the character of course as the performance is pretty good. Matt Damon is underutilized, but Brad Pitt is cool and so good. Don Cheadle is actually the most purely entertaining and funniest part of this film. Him calling on the race card provided some of the funniest parts of the film undoubtedly.
Ocean’s Eleven has its problems such as the second act which is certainly not as fun as the rest of the two. I also found most of the characters forgettable and the heist itself is far from great, although it is solid. The action sequences are good, but not unforgettable.
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
The movie works so much better in the humor department as it’s so pleasantly dynamic and witty in a number of sequences that make the whole movie worth watching. The ensemble cast is also excellent and some of them are phenomenally cast and used. I also liked the score and I definitely loved the cinematography as the film looks cool, elegant and modern. It’s a great example of how to properly bring a dated property to life for modern audiences by making it feel fresh, exciting and cool again. That’s why this is my favorite of Steven Soderbergh’s movies that I’ve seen so far.
Ocean’s Eleven has some underdeveloped characters and it’s not as memorable in the heist itself, but George Clooney is excellent and so well cast, Julia Roberts is also pretty good and Don Cheadle is very funny in a couple of hilarious sequences. The film is a textbook example of how to properly do a remake – by taking a dated material and making it fresh, cool, exciting and modern again.
