Review of Ocean's Twelve (2004) by Josh G — 03 Aug 2010

After finishing Ocean's Twelve, I went online to check out the critical reaction to the film and was surprised to see that the critical community was more critical of the sequel to Soderbergh's Rat Pack re-make than they were regarding his.. um.. original. I had finished the film and immediately declared that I liked it more than the first movie... was I wrong?

It's hard to say. There are certainly flaws in 12 that I can imagine are quite glaring to those who are tempted to be much more critical of the outing. The intricate plot may seem less than intricate once the "twist" ending is revealed and they begin to show how the heist was performed. For those in the audience who were expecting to be able to try to figure it all out through clues, you'll be sadly disappointed. And yes, the twelve criminals at the heart of this movie are not utilized in as smart a fashion as in the previous film. Bernie Mac, for instance, shows up in order to wave to the cameras and then sits most of the rest of the film out "in jail". Alright, I'll admit it, if you start thinking about the plot to any real degree it starts to fall apart. How the who had knowledge of the what and when the what would be where who was not, or why who would want the what to get where it winds up is... well. You get the picture.

But here is what I saw. I saw a movie that is much more loose and fun than the first film. In the negative reviews, I saw a pattern of deriding 12 for being little more than a bunch of friends hanging out and throwing together a quick caper. Critic Nick Davis complains that he can't be sure whether the final moments following the heist are "part of the storyline or if it's footage from the wrap party". Nevertheless, I found the idea of Clooney, Damon, Pitt, Cheadle, etc. just talking and hanging out to be quite fun. It's loose (have I used that word already?) and easy, and aside from a few forced moments with Catherine Zeta-Jones, takes up the majority of the film. In fact, where 11 spent a lot of time on the actual robbery, this movie spends more time in the hotel room talking about the robbery - or just talking in general. Throw in a few hilarious skits - Damon unable to understand the code-speak of his pals, Julia Roberts masquerading as a movie star (how meta!) - and it's a whole lot of fun.

Also, I couldn't help but notice Soderbergh's direction here. I don't remember noticing it much in 11 and I remember it being too in-your-face in last year's The Informant!, but here the stylistic flair of the director shows up in choice moments - usually establishing shots and cut-aways. It added a little bit of style to the movie that set it apart and made it seem like it was being created by a filmmaker, rather than just a movie-maker.

Not a long review here, but I don't have a lot to say. I liked Ocean's Twelve more than its predecessor because I was looking for something fun and sugary and this fit the bill. It doesn't take itself too seriously, which I enjoyed greatly, but I can definitely understand how that same goofing-off feeling could turn other viewers off. It made me laugh, and although I know that the ending could be interpreted as a heinous cheat, it didn't bother me so much. I wasn't putting all my effort into trying to figure it out. I was just along for the ride. & I had fun.