Simply Perfect

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Instead of giving of us well-thought-out & cleverly written explanations for how things happen or why people tick, it shows us the bare minimum, hoping to glide by on its coolness. It doesn't quite work. Everything that's good here (performances, dialogue, music, characters) is either as good or better in the first, & everything that's bad here (emotional connections, heists, villains, general freshness) is done well in the first. Fun at times, but mostly a cheap imitation.

A few years have passed since Danny Ocean's band of thieves robbed Terry Benedict's casino in Las Vegas, now he has tracked them all down and he wants his money back with interest. Obviously most of the money has been spent; if they are to avoid being killed they will have to steal more within a fortnight. Since they are too well known in the United States they head to Europe and set about planning a job which has been given them by a contact. Their do the job but find somebody has got there before them and left a message. Danny immediately realises that this thief is the person responsible for telling Benedict where everybody was. The other thief is 'The Night Fox', a French master thief who sees himself as Number One. Danny meets him and they make a bet; each will try to steal a Faberge egg that is due to be exhibited in Rome; if Danny's gang gets it the Night Fox will pay their debts; if they lose Danny will acknowledge that The Night Fox is the better thief and Benedict will have his revenge! If that wasn't enough Europol agent Detective Isabel Lahiri, who had previously dated Danny's partner Rusty is hunting the gang and the Night Fox.The previous film was a fun caper movie; with a bunch of thieves working together to rob a single 'impossible' target… this sequel has plenty of fun moments but it is too messy. Here we have two robberies, a rival thief determined to beat them, a cop who one of the team dated and the knowledge that if they fail Benedict will have them killed. There are some good jokes and at one point is gets very Meta as Danny's wife Tess, played by Julia Roberts, tries to pass herself off as Julia Roberts and meets Bruce Willis who is playing himself! While there is an obvious threat and at times it looks as if everything has gone wrong for the gang I don't imagine many viewers will think things won't work out for them in the end. The cast, which is almost entirely well known, do a solid job and are clearly having fun. Overall this is hardly a must see but it isn't terrible and is a pleasant enough way to pass a couple of hours.

Honestly, this movie is not bad, it's kind of an interesting mix between action, thriller, and comedy, and definitely not a totally clueless title like Fast and Furios for example, but the whole movie was peppered with these montages of totally irrelevant scenes (e.g. guy doing break-dance while the protagonists are getting arrested???) underscored by ridiculous "robbery" music - at least 3 such montages! It's cool to use these max. twice I'd say, more than that and it becomes a bit repetitive and looks as if the director/producer just didn't have any other means of transitioning between different plot lines. Regardless of this, still a watchable movie. Obviously the acting is great.

Ocean's 12 (2004): Dir: Steven Soderbergh / Cast: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon: A much better film than the junk that proceeded it. After the casino heist in the first film the thieves are sought out and forced to repay back what they owe with added interest. This lands them in a competition against another thief who boasts that he is the greatest thief in the world. Structure is so more detailed and characters developed more strongly with an intelligent ending as oppose to the cheap clichés. Director Steven Soderbergh returns with the action taking place in Amsterdam. He worked with Clooney in the wretched Ocean's Eleven as well as Out of Sight. George Clooney heads the operation and struggles to outsmart his competition and remain on top. Brad Pitt also returns as his best friend who is evidently involved with an investigator played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. She is new casting and her appearance works as she struggles to expose the plot yet falls deeper into danger, and wrestles with her past relationship with Pitt. Julia Roberts as Clooney's wife gives a great performance where she must play herself. This provides the single funniest scenes that is backed with another familiar cameo. The players seem stronger in their self parody as oppose to just being a roll call walk of fame. The result is a pointless yet amusing entertainment. Score: 8 / 10