Reel Critics

Van Novack

“Ocean’s Eleven’s” stellar cast includes George Clooney, Brad Pitt,

Matt Damon, Julia Roberts and Andy Garcia. When a single movie has so

many actors with box office clout and carries the same title as a famous

but excruciatingly bad 1960 film starring the original rat pack,

expectations are understandably low. However, despite the sketchy history

of previous megastar collaborations, and the dated cinematic footnote on

which it is based, “Ocean’s Eleven” is one star vehicle that actually

performs.

Although this production makes good use of its ensemble cast, Clooney

playing Danny Ocean, is the true star of this film. Ocean, a thief just

released from four years in prison, contacts his old partner in crime and

tells him of his plans for the score of a lifetime. Ocean’s partner,

Dusty Ryan (Pitt), is aghast when he learns the plan is to rob a Las

Vegas casino of $150 million.

The casino has the most elaborate security imaginable and is owned by

ruthless mobster Harry Benedict Garcia). To pull off this seemingly

impossible caper, Ocean puts together a colorful team of con men,

safecrackers, computer experts and even a Chinese acrobat. This group of

expert thieves numbers eleven in all, hence the title.

Unlike many films set in Las Vegas, “Ocean’s Eleven” uses a real life

casino, namely the luxurious Bellagio, as it’s main locale. This adds

greatly to the feeling of authenticity. Logic dictates the security

installations shown in the film are not really those of the Bellagio.

Nonetheless, the bowels of the hotel/casino certainly look real enough

and the safe room itself is a marvel of high-tech security.

The plot moves along at a brisk clip with plenty of witty dialogue.

The recruiting of the team is fun to watch as each is introduced in well

fleshed-out scenes. It is nice to see veteran actors Elliott Gould and

Carl Reiner in substantial roles giving them ample opportunity to display

their considerable talents. Roberts barely appears in this film and is

not used to best advantage. Perhaps this is why she is jokingly billed in

the end credits as “introducing” Julia Roberts.

After last year’s twin triumphs of “Erin Brockovich” and “Traffic,”

Steven Soderbergh is not the first director thought of in regard to such

mainstream films as this. Nonetheless, his pacing and refusal to flood

the screen with unnecessary and unbelievable action sequences gives

“Ocean’s Eleven” a certain maturity and intelligence missing from most

films of this genre.

* VAN NOVACK, 48, is the director of institutional research at Cal

State Long Beach.