Steven Soderbergh gives Oceans Twelve the international treatment in the much anticipated sequel to the 2001 star-filled Oceans Eleven. Sticking to the formula used in the previous movie, but with a few special additions “ Eddie Izzard, Vincent Cassel with brief appearances from Robbie Coltrane and Bruce Willis (ingeniously casted as himself). This time the game has changed and Oceans Eleven as they are now known have some grovelling to do.
After pulling off the heist of the century for a meagre $160 million split 11 ways, the boys head off to into the sunset with a comfortable amount of cash – set up for a lifetime. Three years pass and each of them have gone undetected, 3 years however is a substantial amount of time for Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) to stew in anger. After pondering over how to exact revenge, despite having received all the money back from insurance, he wants the $160 million back again plus interest. Greed is a unattractive characteristic at the best of times.
The plan is very different to last time “ as it stands they owe just under $100 million “ having spent a large amount of their earnings. As they are all infamous in the US, no one wants to be associated with Oceans Eleven so they look to Amsterdam. Land of the free spirited¦as such. With 2 weeks left to pay Benedict off they get down to some serious thinking “ if they don’t prison awaits them. However things are not as simple as they seem; the plot thickens when a job they try to carry out (all be it a small time affair compared to their last) has already been swooped in on.
Oceans Eleven are not the best in the business anymore and Night Fox as he is known, challenges them to a deal. If they can pull off a heist before him he will pay their debt to Benedict.
What proceeds to happen is a confusing state of affairs. The plot despite being full of twists and turns is just not as exciting and hard to keep up with, possibly because I could not be bothered to attempt to try, which was below par. Especially when the first was so fresh and unique despite being a remake of an old rat pack classic. What I immediately pick up on is the slower pace of the film, the transition between scenes are less snappy.
The quick wit of the characters dramatically decreases, despite the writers being the exact same. Perhaps they lost interest, maybe they thought the second was not as sharp with humour and as charismatic as the first, which I 100% agree with. Despite this, Soderbergh still uses his quirky retro twist to put his stamp on the film, using the soundtrack to link the two together.
Brad Pitt and George Clooney still have that close relationship that appears real on screen as it would off screen, no acting required; however the other characters feel stunted. Their roles do not evolve or develop “ they remain the same and separate at once, despite being the infamous group, Oceans Eleven. Acknowledging that extra characters were essential to making Ocean Twelve far removed from the first, Cassel and Izzard were cast. Vincent Cassel oozes class and athleticism, and Eddie Izzard brings British flair both revitalising the film.
Few of my favourite things from the film “ Julia Roberts pretending to be Julia Roberts and Matt Damon’s Rusty eating less. Apart from that Ocean’s Twelve is less than astonishing, disappointing is more of an accurate description.
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