Heist movies are fun either in a dark sense like Heat or in a comical and sleek sense like this movie. Plus, this movie is a remake that actually had the potential to become a better movie because the 1960 version starring Frank Sinatra was boring and did not provide any entertainment or suspense in the characters or in the heist itself. I almost fell asleep while watching that version. Anyway, director Steven Soderbergh, who was riding momentum from the acclaim of Erin Brockovich and Traffic, had a concept of improving this version with a remake and it was very peculiar for him to commit to that decision because prior to this movie, he had not made a remake. He is often cited as an independent filmmaker but because of his last two movie's successes, Warner Bros. had confidence of remaking this movie.
So, I have heard about all the praise from my friends when the movie was being brought up back when it was released as to how good and funny this movie turned out to be. I was a bit hesitant first watching this movie because of the cast. It looked liked so many leading movie stars in one project and I question: "Will it be too much to handle?" But, after Traffic, I thought he could handle it. And, boy, this remake is certainly one of the best heist movies. It could have easily been a cash-grab or a recycled product from an assembly line that could have easily been forgettable. And because of this movie's success, it is all thanks to Soderbergh's direction and Ted Griffin's screenplay.
The movie begins as Daniel Ocean (George Clooney) gets released from prison and immediately violates his parole as he travels to Atlantic City to ask Frank Catton (Bernie Mac) what his old pal/partner-in-crime, Rusty (Brad Pitt), is up to. It seems that Rusty is teaching movie stars such as Topher Grace and Shane West how to play card games. He meets his friend to propose a caper to hit three casinos. They both go to Las Vegas to pitch their plan to wealthy friend and former casino owner, Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), and they will rob the Bellagio, the Mirage and the MGM Grand which are casino rival Terry Benedict's (Andy Garcia) casinos. Reuben is familiar with casino security so he gets involved and decides to finance the operation.
Danny and Rusty recruit former colleagues and crime specialists such as Frank, Virgil and Turk Malloy (Casey Affleck and Scott Caan), brothers who are mechanics, Livingston Dell (Eddie Jamison), a surveillance/electronics aficionado, Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle), an explosives expert, Saul Bloom (Carl Reiner), an elderly con man who has been out of the game, Yen (Shaobo Qin), an acrobatics performer and Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon), a pickpocket who is related to his father who is a friend to Danny and Rusty. They all congregate in Reuben's place to discuss the plan as to how the heist will be done and the specs of the casino. The Nevada Gaming Commission requires casinos to have enough money to cover the patrons' bets but on an upcoming fight night, the vault will need to have $160 million. That is when they will steal the money.
They all concoct the plan before the fight night but the ultimate reason why Danny is stealing from Terry Benedict is that his ex-wife, Tess (Julia Roberts), is Terry's girlfriend. Rusty thinks it is too high of a risk for Danny to expose himself and the team but he does not care. And, in a great scene, Danny meets Tess for the first time in years and exposes himself to Terry. So, the plan is in motion as everybody gets into their roles to successfully steal the money from the casinos.
SPOILER ALERT!
The whole movie relies on Soderbergh's style and production value because the whole movie is edited and shot with panache as the whole movie is both broody and lively and optimistic. The narrative is compiled with three acts that goes in motion real well with the execution of the plan and the chemistry between all eleven, the testing and stakes and then the heist itself. Also, the characters are not as praised as the narrative and dialogue. The movie has stereotypical tropes in the crew with people showing off their quirky traits and expertise because they are not as fleshed out. However, they all have their moments as they show off their personas but in the end in a lovely scene accompanied by the score, everybody but Danny show up to the iconic fountain silently basking their victory as they go in their separate ways. It is a moment of optimism for themselves.
However, what Soderbergh and Ted Griffin combine sleek and quick dialogue with comic situations is quite tricky but is balanced real well. There is so much inside dialogue within their narrow system of thievery that you, the viewer, are an outsider to the world but sometimes, you feel like you are part of the crew. This movie could have easily gone to the predictable route in which the thieves could argue amongst each other about the caper and gone their separated ways early and then come back and apologize to each other and move on. But, the movie is very plot-focused as they focus on the task at hand.
There is not one wrong note in the cast as the performances are great across the board. There is some tension in the buildup to the heist and also if the relationship between Tess and Danny will resume, so it is both professional and personal suspense and the movie works on both levels. As for the heist, it is golden as I think it is one of the best heists ever (not the best) but it may be the most fun because the cast looks to have fun while on-set. They are getting along and the camaraderie between them is what embraces my enjoyment for this movie. It is not simply a fantastic and sleek heist movie, but it is a movie about friendship within the system that is risking their lives. But, come on, their lives are thievery.
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