Ocean's Thirteen
Directed By: Stephen Soderbergh
Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, Elliot Gould, Andy Garcia, Eddie Izzard, Eddie Jemison
Studio: Warner Brothers
Year: 2007
Rated: PG-13
Film Length: 122 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, English SDH
Release Date: November 13, 2007
The Film
Ocean's Thirteen finds Danny Ocean (Clooney) and Rusty Ryan (Pitt) re-assembling their gang from the previous films in the series when they learn that their friend, Reuben Tishkoff (Gould), has suffered a heart attack after being double crossed in a business deal with hotel/casino tycoon Willie Bank (Pacino). After giving Bank one chance to make things right by restoring Reuben's share of the hotel and casino, they proceed to take every step imaginable to insure that the grand opening of "The Bank" is a disaster. This runs the gamut from rigging nearly every game on the floor against the house to sabotaging the visit of the critic who will decide whether the hotel receives a prestigious "Five Diamond" rating. When the cost of overcoming the security system, which involves simulating an earthquake with channel-digging machinery, becomes prohibitive, the gang is forced to recruit an unlikely ally for additional financing – former heist victim and nemesis Terry Benedict (Garcia). Benedict agrees to put up the money, but insists that they also add the seemingly impossible theft of Bank's super-secure diamond collection to their "to-do" list.
While I enjoyed 2001's Ocean's Eleven for the escapist neo-Rat-Pack entertainment that it was, I heard so many negative opinions about the sequel, Ocean's Twelve, that I never bothered to see it. With that in mind, I approached this second sequel with fairly low expectations. I am happy to report that those low expectations were met and exceeded. Ocean's Thirteen is a fun if forgettable light entertainment much in the spirit of the first film in the series although not nearly as fresh. While the cutesy conversations involving Clooney, Pitt, Damon, and the rest of the cast have become a bit labored and forced, and any sliver of a connection to plausibility has been severed with extreme prejudice for this caper, there is still fun to be had watching the cast have fun with each other.
New additions this time out include Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin. Pacino is perfectly cast as the brazenly egotistical casino tycoon. By most acting standards, Bank is a bit broadly played, but by the last three decades of Al Pacino standards, he is fairly restrained. Ellen Barkin plays Bank's right hand woman with a hidden weakness for younger men with large prosthetic noses. It is a somewhat thankless role, even more so than the Julia Roberts role from the first film in the series, but even if Barkin is not quite allowed into the boys club, she does capture the general spirit of fun for which the movie seems to be going in the handful of opportunities she is afforded. Another standout newcomer is David Paymer, whose character is identified only as "The V.U.P.". Paymer's performance really sells the absolute hellish experience of his character at the hotel to great comic effect. Bob Einstein, of "Super-Dave" fame has a brief but fun part late in the film. The bickering relationship between his and Matt Damon's character is amusing enough that I would consider buying a ticket to a spin-off film focusing on just their exploits.
Soderbergh tops off his confection with his usual hyper-stylized cinematography making heavy use of filters and colored lights. This creates a sense of unreality that helps viewers accept the implausibility of the plot that is unfolding before them. I would criticize him for excessively indulging his actors, but that would be like criticizing the maker of a concert film for being too reliant on music. The whole raison d'etre of the Ocean's… films seems to be to let charismatic actors have a holiday with fake moustaches, pointless but snappy dialog scenes, self-consciously cool posturing, and terrible accents (Elliot Gould affects the most unconvincing New York accent I could imagine ever coming from a Brooklyn-born actor).
The Video
The 2.35:1 16:9 enhanced transfer can be difficult to judge on some levels. There is nary a shot in the film accomplished without the use of a filter, colored lights, "pushed" exposure, or some combination of the above. In terms of how this is translated to standard definition DVD video, contrast is generally very good with excellent shadow detail except for certain shots which appear to have some intentional exposure adjustment with slightly blown out highlights or black crush. Compression proves to be problematic as artifacts sometimes pulse around high contrast edges and grain patterns freeze for a few frames at a time on static backgrounds. While there is certainly a lot of intentional film grain, there is also an unpleasant amount of video noise that will be readily apparent on large projection set-ups.
The Audio
The English Dolby Digital 5.1 track is encoded at 384kbps, but does not suffer to my ears from not being at the maximum standard DVD rate of 448kbps. The sound design is very similar to that of other Soderbergh films, concentrating on the front channels except for certain scenes (such as the earthquake) where the rears and LFE are used for very specific effects. Alternate (and un-reviewed) Dolby Digital audio track options are 192kbps English 2.0 Pro-Logic, 384kbps French 5.1, and 384 kbps Spanish 5.1.
The Extras
When the disc is first spun up, the viewer is greeted with a series of promotional advertisements including a 33 second trailer for the DVD release of Lucky You, a 42 second ad for the Ocean's Thirteen Soundtrack CD, a two minute and 32 second theatrical trailer for P.S. I Love You, a two minute and 41 second trailer for the Seinfeld Season 9 and Complete Series DVD sets, a 36 second trailer for the Rush Hour 3 DVD, and a one minute and fifteen second theatrical teaser for Get Smart.
From the Special Features menu proper, the viewer has three choices:
First up is Vegas: An Opulent Illusion. This 22 minute and 46 second featurette is presented in 16:9 enhanced video with Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo sound. Narrated by D. B. Sweeney, it begins with a short history of Las Vegas and then progresses to a discussion of how modern Las Vegas works. Topics range from how the role of ameneties and entertainment has changed over the years to the difference between a high roller and a "whale". It intersperses interviews with Vegas authorities with footage of some of the ritzier areas of various hotels and casinos and a few clips from Ocean' Thirteen that are at least obliquely related to the point being made. There are no chapter stops, but on-screen titles neatly break it up into sections entitled "The Draw of the Strip", "The Lure of the Game", and "The Rush to New Heights". On-camera interview participants include Las Vegas Adviser.com Editor Anthony Curtis, casino architect Paul Steelman, former "Golden Nugget" Owner Tim Poster, "The Palms" Owner George Maloof, Jr., Independent Casino Host Steve Cyr, Cosmopolitan Resort and Casino CEO Ian Bruce Eichner, and Friedmutter Group Founder Brad Friedmutter.
Jerry Weintraub Walk and Talk runs a brief two minutes and 24 seconds, and is presented in 4:3 video with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound. This consists of Producer Weintraub offering a tour of the massive and detailed "Bank" casino set built for the film and then encouraging you to see the movie which you have already purchased or rented by the time you watch this feature.
Finally, Deleted Scenes contains a set of four scenes that were either reduced in length or deleted completely from the movie. They are presented in 16:9 enhanced widescreen and run a total of four minutes and 34 seconds. The scenes are as follows:
- Deleted bit with Scott Caan dressed as a waiter being told to clean up after a vomiting customer
- Extended bit with more dialog from Clooney and Pitt, some of which was used elsewhere in the final film, where a roulette "fixer" is violently ejected from the casino. Some of the expository dialog about the roulette fixer helps to both make a plot point and sell a gag better than in the finished film
- Deleted scene with Eddie Izzard and Eddie Jemison fixing the blackjack card shuffling machine
- Desert meeting between Andy Garcia and Vincent Cassel's characters
The film and extras arrive on an RSDL single sided dual-layered DVD-9 inside a standard Amaray case.
Summary
"Ocean's Thirteen" provides a diverting two hours for fans of the first film in the series. While the "this time it's personal" plot is a bit clichéd, the filmmakers try to make up in sizzle what they lack in steak, and succeed modestly. The DVD presentation has a very good audio, but somewhat problematic video presentation due to digital video artifacts that will be very noticeable on large projection displays. The extras are pretty slim, but fans with an interest in the "Sin City" may enjoy the documentary featurette on Las Vegas. The brief set of deleted scenes are amusing if slight.
Regards,
