Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Written by: Ted Griffin (based off 1960 characters, story & screenplay)
Produced by: Bruce Berman, Susan Ekins, and John Hardy
Music by: David Holmes
Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, and Andy Garcia
Runtime: 1 hour 56 minutes
Rated PG-13
Genre: Crime, Comedy, "Sexy Heist" (<---as one of my friends once said)
Ok, so I've completely messed with "fixed" order I created in the first post, but I think this format will work better.
Intro: One of my friends gave this movie as well as the other movies in the series and the original 1960 version, all bundled into a neat little pack, for Christmas this last year, and I've just gotten around to watching it now. Yes, I know it's June. What can I say, it has been a busy year so far. Anyway, I decided to watch it as kind of a fun escape from all the serious, heavy war movies I have been watching recently as part of a history project, and it served its purpose quite well. Ocean's Eleven, though in no way a perfect movie, is the definition of a fun, popcorn movie that does exactly what it's suppose to: entertain.
Things people may find "objectionable": The movie is PG-13, so there's not a lot of objectionable things, but I did come across 2 F-words. That's pretty much it, with some more mild swearing.
Plot: Daniel Ocean (Clooney) is a convicted thief who has just been released from jail on parole. His wife, Tess (Roberts) has left him for a Las Vegas casino tycoon named Terry Benedict. Danny wants to get back at Benedict for this, so he plots an elaborate scheme to rob the three casinos Benedict owns (the Bellagio, the MGM Grand, and the Mirage) simultaneously, since they share a common vault. He then sets about assembling a masterful heist team with diverse talents led by himself and his right hand man, Rusty Ryan (Pitt). They calculate the best night to rob, which is the night of a big fight, so the most money will be in the vault. Then they begin to plan how to steal the money from the extremely well-guarded vault as Danny hopes he can rob Benedict and get Tess back, all without getting caught again.
Ratings:
-Directing/Cinematography: I liked the directing in this movie. The opening scenes are especially well-shot, and the whole slick, stylized direction by Soderbergh really sets the tone and mood of the movie.
-Acting: 10/10: Between George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon, you get a lot of good actors in this movie. Therefore, you get good performances.
-Writing: 8/10: Pretty well written. The script didn't stick out, but it was solid. The writers worked in some funny lines, which I liked.
-Special Effects: n/a: There wasn't much need for special effects in the movie, and the story does fine without them. The effects are not at all a key part of the movie.
-Music/Score: 8/10: Good music. It was nice, smooth, and jazzy and it nicely the slick directing style. The only problem I had with it is that the smooth jazz was sometimes played during tense moments, and I felt it didn't completely fit the mood the scenes were trying to convey. Even if they had stuck with the jazz, they maybe should have made it little more dire-sounding. Even so, it didn't take away that much from the movie.
-Power/Emotion: 3/10: This is the one area of the movie in which it was lacking, I thought. Though the movie is thoroughly enjoyable, I didn't exactly feel that deeply for any of the characters. This is probably what kept this movie from being great, instead of good and fun. The feeling comes for the team as a whole, as you want them to succeed in robbing the casinos.
-Adrenaline: 6/10: Gets your heart rate up, especially during the heist scenes. You really want the characters to succeed in the heist and this makes these scenes exciting. Still, it is not really action-packed the whole way through.
-Humor: 5/10: Though the movie was mainly a crime movie, it did have some funny moments. No scenes were created to be completely comedy, but some individual lines or exchanges were funny.
-Final Score: Though the movie is in no way a masterpiece, it is definitely a fun movie. Steven Soderbergh's stylized direction carries the movie and sets the mood of a slick, fun heist movie, or a "sexy heist," as one of my friends once called this movie. It is not made to be taken that seriously, so it functions as a perfect Saturday night popcorn movie. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a movie that's fun and enjoyable and does not require full involvement.
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