Ocean's Eleven (2001) User Reviews (1,031)

One Word: WOW

[MissCzarChasm · 9/10 · 8 December 2001]

When i first saw trailers for Oceans 11 i was amazed that they could get a cast like that into a film. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and Matt Damon are among Hollywood's elite and the lesser known actors such as Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Scott Caan, and Casey Affleck have made big impressions in other films that they appeared in. Whenever big hollywood actors are in a movie i always want to see if they're actually making a good movie or if they're just putting them together to make a profit and a bad film. Then i heard that Steven Soderbiergh was directing. By that time i was hooked because he directed one of my favorite films; Traffic. After all that time of waiting last night was the night. Opening Night with about 12 of my friends and a semi-packed theatre. After viewing the film i have to say my verdict is......

WHAT A DAMN FUN, ENTERTAINING, and CLEVER FILM. Words can't describe how much i loved it. These actors weren't in it just to make a profit they were in it to make a memorable film. I don't want to give any of the plot away because it's just too good but i will tell you what i liked and some things i didn't like about the film.

What I Liked:

George Clooney and Brad Pitt are the embodiment of charisma. I'm a straight male but there is no denying that these guys possess a lot of style and charm. Not to mention talent. I've always enjoyed George Clooney as an actor and with each film he does he becomes an even better actor. i've always been a fan of Brad Pitt as well. He's just seems like an everyday guy in his films. Very natural and laid back. He's truly at home in this role.

The supporting cast is uniformily good. To see Julia Roberts in a supporting role was odd at first but even in the few scenes she's in you can't deny that the girl has talent. Her scenes with Clooney are priceless. The dialouge in these scenes are suitably sassy and snappy. Don Cheadle and Bernie Mac making a lasting impression as well. Don Cheadle is becoming one of my favorite actors and Mac is obviously on his way with this film and his own hit TV show. Matt Damon is good in his role and his chemistry with Clooney during the last act provides us with some truly entertaining and hilarious moments. Andy Garcia makes for a truly suave villian in the film. I haven't seen him in much lately which is quite a shame because he's a wonderful actor. Scott caan and Casey Affleck are a dynamic duo. They provide some of the most hilarious moments in the film and it's because of their off-beat chemistry.

Soderbergh is a wonderful filmmaker. He has an obvious love of films and this aids him in making good movies. He knows all the tricks of the trade and he uses them throughout the film. Subtle things are also down through the use of music. Images fly over a hip soundtrack that give the film an edge. This is especially certain during the final few scenes. Soderbergh is probably one of the best directors of our generation.

Vegas is a pretty interesting back-drop for everything that goes on. Vegas is basically another character in the film and through Soderbergh's work on the film he gives it a life of its own.

The final half of the film is outstanding. So much is going on yet the story flows at a nice pace so we know what is exactly going on.

What I didn't Like:

I tihnk i only disliked one thing about this film. Some of the dialouge was a bit cheesy but what film doesn't have that. My major gripe in the film was Julia's lack of screentime. She's good in the scenes that she's in but because her character isn't well developed you don't really care about her plight. If julia wasn't playing her however i don't know if any other actress could make you almost care with the screentime that she possesses.

It's rare that i dislike one thing about a film. Ocean's 11 has already made it's way into my top twenty and it's most definitely the best film i've seen this year. Very nice work

9/10

Just great

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 28 January 2007]

George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, Elliot Gould, Carl Reiner, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Shaobo Qin, Miguel Perez, and Livingston Dell make up "Ocean's Eleven," a 2001 film directed by Steven Soderbergh. The film also stars Andy Garcia and Julia Roberts. This is a remake of the rat pack "Ocean's Eleven," which I've never seen so I can't make comparisons. I suspect that this version has more emphasis on plot and the older one has more emphasis on the pack.

The mastermind of a plot to rob Las Vegas' Bellaggio Hotel vault of $160 million is Danny Ocean, a very recent ex-con who had lots of time on his hands in prison to plan it. With the help of his buddy, Rusty Ryan (Pitt) he recruits 9 people who specialize in a particular expertise to carry out the elaborate heist. Problems come in when Ocean, obsessed with his ex-wife (Roberts), approaches her, to the annoyance of her present boyfriend, the owner of the hotel, Terry Benedict (Garcia). He "makes" Danny by sending out a bulletin with Danny's photo to the hotel staff, which puts him out of his own plot at the insistence of Rusty. But Danny isn't one to exit easily, in either marriage or robberies.

This is a fast-paced, tension-filled, exciting movie that's highly entertaining. The plot is completely improbable so you have to take it for what it is - fantastic fun. And you never know whether something is going wrong or if it's part of the plan. The chemistry between the actors, particularly Clooney and Pitt, is great, and there is some wonderful acting. Clooney is solid as Ocean, a passionate man of quiet determination; Damon is terrific as an insecure participant; Don Cheadle, sporting a Cockney accent, is hilarious as an explosives expert; Elliot Gould is outrageous as their financial backer; Carl Reiner is excellent as an older con man who can do accents. Just as they all contribute their different talents to the heist, they do so in this movie. This includes the acting in the smaller roles played by Bernie Mac et al - everyone is perfect. Andy Garcia is fabulous as Benedict - both elegant and scary, he whispers instead of shouts and stays in control for the most part. Megastar Roberts is wasted - she doesn't have much to do.Any actress could have done the role, but I guess the producers wanted an all-star cast.

Highly recommended for blockbuster entertainment value and star power. Just don't look for it to be realistic.

Tasty cast in very cool and slick movie

[Jenny Ho · 8/10 · 5 March 2002]

What a tasty prospect for a film: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts and for the young at heart amongst us, Joshua Jackson of 'Dawson's Creek' fame in a cameo role -all directed by the Oscar winning Steven Soderbergh!

George Clooney plays Danny Ocean who soon after being released from prison, puts together a team of eleven to undertake a robbery of the three biggest casinos in Las Vegas in an attempt to bring in a reward of $150 million. What soon becomes clear is that it's not the money which will give Danny the ultimate satisfaction, but the opportunity to get revenge on the owner of the three casinos he is robbing -Benedict (Andy Garcia) who just happens to be the new beau of Danny's ex, Tess (Julia Roberts).

Some of the gang of eleven are more memorable than others -especially the Chinese acrobat, the explosives expert with a dodgy cockney accent and the medallion wearing Reuben -aka Monica Gellar's dad! The cast are brilliant at acting cool -even if all Brad Pitt is doing is snacking on the screen (he does this a lot!), you are still transfixed by him because he looks so good on screen.

What makes the story so intriguing is the fact that Danny's mission seems so impossible: security in the casinos is paramount and the route to the reward is littered with obstacles. The number of close calls that the gang is faced with is great fun and one can't help but root for these crooks throughout the film. It is also refreshing to watch a film which is dominated by male stars and is not filled with macho swearing. Instead, we have a banter between the stars which is indicative of their camaraderie.

'Ocean's Eleven' is a welcome option in the choice of movies available at the moment which is dominated by Oscar nominees that are not going to be everyone's cup of tea. With this film, it's simply a case of sit back and enjoy the fun!

One of my all-time favorites

[jojomcheyazsong · 10/10 · 25 May 2004]

There is just something about this movie that makes it so great. There's nothing truly outstanding about any one aspect of the movie; nothing that will blow you away. However, everything is put together perfectly.

Personally, I have a theory that any movie that absolutely blows you away the first time you see it, will lose its entertainment value very quickly. Not necessarily because the movie was not good, but because it just seems to get old too fast. This is NOT one of those movies.

This is the kind of movie that will be enjoyed countless times. The dialogue is slick, and always to the point. There are few (if any) overdone scenes and/or lines that tend to become annoying over time.

This movie flows exceptionally well. Personally, I couldn't quite figure out why until I watched the "behind the scenes" footage on the DVD. I didn't really notice all of the work they put into using as few shots as possible. The extra features on the DVD really explain it all. Almost every scene uses considerably less shots than you would think it takes to convey all of the activity going on. The music punctuates the flow of the movie and the shots extremely well.

The cast is almost all big names. It's great to see actors like Pitt and Clooney and Damon come together in a movie and interact so well, without having to be the pretty boys or bad-ass heroes of the movie.

Fresh faced, extremely cool and slick – yes it's shallow but so what? Eat popcorn and enjoy

[bob the moo · 26 February 2002]

Freshly released from jail Danny Ocean begins to recruit key players to put together a job as daring as it is dangerous - the safe that holds the money for 3 casinos belonging to Terry Benedict. As well as splitting the $150 million between the gang, Danny also plans to steal back his ex-wife Tess who is currently dating Benedict.

The first movie wasn't exactly brilliant - only really interesting because it brought the whole rat pack together onscreen for the first time. This could have easily fallen into the same trap - trading purely on the stars' names rather than an intrinsic entertainment value. However it manages to take what worked from the original and give it a great modern shine. The story is daft of course, but it moves forward with a sort of slick illogical cleverness that appears wonderfully clever but is, of course, highly unlikely! The story unfolds in an entertaining manner, the build up is great with no dull moments as we meet the characters and find out the details of the job bit by bit.

The job itself is well handled. It is so slick that you don't mind that it couldn't possibly work in real life, but instead it just appears so clever! The romantic subplot I found to be a little redundant and I didn't think that Clooney and Roberts had good chemistry - compared to Clooney and Lopez in another great Sodenberg film `Out of Sight' where the screen crackled! However it takes up little screen time and compliments the heist quite well. Sodenberg handles the film well and doesn't allow his direction to be slick without substance - the editing is clever and Las Vegas internally and externally looks great.

Clooney is fantastic in the lead - his strength is that he has great charisma which means he doesn't have to ham it up. Instead he does his stuff but allows others to try and shine while he is comfortable with a constant warm glow. Pitt does likewise - he doesn't try to hog the glory but hangs around being smooth for most of the time. This allows Pitt and Clooney to be the two leads without taking away from the ensemble feel - they also have a good relationship going here. Roberts is OK but didn't convince me that Clooney would risk so much for her. Affleck and Cann are good in a sort of comedy double act role - they don't have a lot of scenes but they are funny. Old hands Gould (so good to see him on the big screen) and Carl Riener effortlessly steal all their scenes and Matt Damon seems happy to be on a smaller part than the other stars and has a rookie sort of role. Andy Garcia has a poor role as the bad guy and doesn't manage to bring him to life - although he does make him unlikeable when next to Clooney. However, Don Cheadle, a great actor, needs a real kicking for ruining things with a terrible cockney accent that makes Dick Van Dyke sound genuine. Happily he doesn't actually have that many lines - and he only has two scenes where he has to say more than 2 sentences at a time - but really he is just terrible. Someone please explain - why his character is English? Then someone explain - why they just didn't get an English star to play it?

Overall any criticisms against this are minor and are missing the point. It's not meant to be a classic or get Sodenberg more Oscar nominations. Instead it's a slick little package that is kept afloat by a starry cast, a cool soundtrack and a nice (if silly) plot. Sit, watch, chill, enjoy, forget.

Fluffy but lots of fun

[preppy-3 · 10/10 · 10 December 2001]

A rarity--a remake that's better than the original. 11 men led by Danny Ocean (George Clooney) prepare to rob a vault linked to 3 casinos in Las Vegas. His partners in crime include Brad Pitt, Carl Reiner, Elliot Gould, Casey Affleck, Matt Damon and Scott Caan. Also, the casinos are owned by Tery Benedict (Andy Garcia) who is romancing Ocean's ex-wife Tess (Julia Roberts). Fun, engrossing, just simply the most enjoyable film of 2001. It moves smoothly, the entire cast plays it cool and easy and Steven Soderbergh directs it with flair and intelligence. Yes, it's light; yes, it's a trifle but it's so FUN! I really loved this film. Affleck and Caan are hilarious as bickering brothers. My only complaint--Julia Roberts (the only woman in the cast) is shot very cruelly. She's beautiful so why does she look so bad? Aside from that this is a fun movie. Just sit back and enjoy.

Classy heist thriller with an all-star cast

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 6 September 2016]

An enjoyable enough crime story from golden child Steven Soderbergh, perhaps not achieving classic status but still very amiable to sit through. This remake has many things in its favour, not least in Soderbergh's direction; this is a man with the power to turn the most mundane plot events into fairly gripping, watchable drama. His film looks and feels good, reaching a classy level far above anything most Hollywood directors these days have the capability of achieving. The plot, it has to be said, is fairly clichéd and predictable, but there are one or two surprising twists and a witty script gives to some fine interplay between the characters. Of course, it goes without saying that the star-studded cast is the main reason to sit through this film and enjoy it.

George Clooney heads the bill as Danny Ocean, a suave and snappily-dressed criminal who devises the perfect robbery. The more I see of Clooney, the more I like him; in fact he may be one of the only stars in Hollywood today to recall the charm and charisma of the old school actors like Cary Grant and Clark Gable. Combining dashing looks with strong acting methods, Clooney is a real gem of an actor and it's astonishing that he began in television when his forte is so obviously the cinema. Not that I want to sound sycophantic, but Clooney is one of the good guys. His foil is none other than Andy Garcia, who seems to have been off our screens for a decade, so who now looks suddenly a heck of a lot older than he used to. Garcia crafts a cold, cold character for his casino owner, Terry Benedict, combining smoothness with menace with barely uttering a word.

Brad Pitt has a supporting role as Clooney's accomplice and is, well, Brad Pitt. He doesn't have a lot to do but he seems to be enjoying himself. Julia Roberts is the conventional love interest but I have already expressed my dislike of the actress elsewhere so I'll leave it at that. With so much of the screen time devoted to many different characters and actions, not many of the other actors get much of a look in and instead appear to be along for the ride, adding "name value" to the poster. Matt Damon barely registers as the young, smart pickpocket; Casey Afflect and Scott Caan provide dubious comic relief; Elliott Gould has aged in an astonishing way so this distracts from his acting. Congratulations to Carl Reiner, putting in a tour-de-force acting performance in a very small part. Watch out for Joshua Jackson as a card shark and Don Cheadle, whose character appears to have been influenced by Dick Van Dyke in MARY POPPINS. OCEAN'S ELEVEN is a pure popcorn movie, but at least it credits the audience with some taste, intelligence, and refinery, unlike most big bucks blockbusters these days.

One of the most Entertaining films ever!

[hall1138 · 8/10 · 26 July 2004]

Ocean's Eleven is a very easy-going and purely fun movie to watch. The film is loaded with celebrities such as George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia, and Matt Damon. Ocean's Eleven is very "loosely" based on the original Ocean's Eleven starring Frank Sinatra. Steven Soderbergh did a fabulous job directing this movie and having all the characters to connect to Danny Oceans group of 11. The plan is to steal 160$ million dollars from three Las Vegas Casino's. Sounds wacky? The planning time took up most of the movie, and you almost believe that it could be done after you see this. Andy Garcia did a fabulous job playing Terry Benedict, the owner of the Casino's where Ocean (Clooney) plans to rob. Brad Pitt plays and interesting role as Danny Ocean's sidekick. The plot flows quickly and some parts leave you laughing on the floor. Each one of the eleven characters had its own story behind them and it is seen when Rusty Ryan (Pitt) and Danny Ocean (Clooney) first go to recruit them to plan this heist. I have to say Julia Roberts didn't have a flexible character but nonetheless her presence in this film as Tess, Danny Ocean's ex-wife, is apparent. Ocean's 12 is due out in December with the same old cast and it promises to be a hit. This movie is one of my favorites because the premise is great and the actors are great.

**** out of *****

Crackerjack caper

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 7 January 2018]

I imagine that followers of the legend of the Clan would find it unforgivable that George Clooney remade the ultimate Rat Pack film Ocean's 11. But I think even Frank, Dean, and Sammy would be happy with what Clooney and director Steven Soderbergh did with it. It's nothing less than a crackerjack caper film with a few stars to gaze at also.

The point in the original is that this was a film almost made as a lark for the participants while the main players were appearing at the legendary Sands Resort in Las Vegas. These were old army ranger buddies who decide to put their training to use and heist five casinos.

Clooney and buddy Brad Pitt's film has them in the Frank and Dean roles and they're a much more professional outfit who are only doing one of them. But it's the one Andy Garcia owns and Clooney has a score to settle with him. He's taken Clooney's wife away played here ever so briefly by Julia Roberts. In the original Angie Dickinson had the part. And it was also a brief part.

Clooney and Pitt go out and recruit a crack team, some they know, some they don't. But it's a professional job and close run thing.

Garcia is in a part the equivalent of George Raft from the original. It was business for Raft and business for Cesar Romero the syndicate guy he hires to find them. But Garcia's a nasty character who settles his own accounts.

The film has got a whole lot of nice touches stylistically and cast is expensive and first rate. For those familiar with the original the irony of that ending is replaced by something completely different. More in keeping with George Clooney than Frank Sinatra.

Nevertheless I think the Chairman of the Board would like this Ocean's Eleven.

O.K. so I watched a "big" movie . . .

[Iammymothersdaughter2 · 10/10 · 30 January 2002]

At the request of my friends & family over the recent holidays I went to see this film. Though it's not my usual M.O., I really enjoyed this movie.

I've not seen the original 'Rat Pack' version of the movie (except bits and pieces), so a comparison between the two is not possible on my part.

This version I found playful and relatively harmless, and the plot twists are undeniably clever. The comradery between the actors is the most entertaining part of this film in my opinion. Elliot Gould's part had to be my favorite character if forced to pick, followed in close order by Clooney, Pitt & Damon. Actually all of the actors did an excellent job with their roles.

This movie won't change the world, or probably change your mind about anything significant, but the plot is fun, the cinematography is excellent, the actors all shine in their roles, and on occasion that is enough.

Giant Stars at Play

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 9 February 2014]

Danny Ocean (George Clooney) is a career criminal who just got released from prison. He quickly sets his signs on robbing three of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas, The Bellagio, the Mirage and the MGM Grand. All of them owned by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia). They plan to take them down when they have the biggest reserves during the big fight.

Steven Soderbergh is an expert director, and his skills are fully used here. This is a slick fun production. George Clooney and friends are having great fun playing crooks. This is strictly play acting. There isn't any realism here. It's fun to see so many giant stars playing with so gusto. However there is a lack of tension or suspense. We're all just star gazing.

Are you in or out?

[thesar-2 · 10/10 · 21 August 2010]

I actually do like a lot of rebooted/remakes, such as Dawn of the Dead, Halloween or Star Trek. But, of course, for every three that are good, a dozen or more are mediocre at best. That's not the case here.

Granted, I have not seen, nor really desire to see the original Ocean's Eleven, after what I read and researched about it. I'll just take this movie at face value.

More than just a remake, this movie ranks HIGH on my all-time favorites list. I have probably seen it twice the number in the title and plan on more visits to one of the most creative, funny and just plain entertaining movies I have ever seen. It helps that I am a George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Matt Damon fan and I can enjoy Brad Pitt and Andy Garcia from time to time. But, put all of those, plus a lot more, together and you have probably the highest level of chemistry between any casts in any movie.

Ocean (Clooney) is released on probation from jail and first things first: he starts high-rolling his latest heist scheme by rounding up the usual suspects through his buddy, Rusty (Pitt.) Their diabolical plan is to rob three Las Vegas casinos in a single night, all from the same vault under the Bellagio. To do so, they need (almost) a dozen men and everything to go as planned.

That's the basic premise, but there is so much more richness to this movie that causes oodles of repeat watching.

Number one: Even though the chemistry is pitch perfect across the board, even involving enemies, its Clooney and Pitt that make this jump three levels. Their banter and understanding of each other while finishing each other's thoughts and sentences hasn't been seen since the 1950s. Usually that involved Cary Grant and a various female lead. Here, sexuality aside, these two cats had it down. They added humor, pose and you rooted for them every step of the way, even though, in reality, they're the bad guys.

Number Two: The remaining cast was excellent. Each held their own, each had their own depth. Not two alike. Damon was great as the nervous and up'n'coming'thieving Linus, brothers Virgil and Turk were played hilariously by Caan and Affleck and Jemison played the computer nerd wonderfully. Those are just four. Mark my words: EVERY SINGLE actor in this film was perfect in their respective roles. I could go on another 1,000 words on each one and not do them the justice they did for themselves.

Number Three: It's pure fantasy. I consider myself somewhat a Vegas Expert – I've been following, studying and visiting Sin City since I was about 13-15. THIS COULD NEVER HAPPEN. Even if one aspect of their master robbery plan would partially work, it would be thwarted in seconds. And that's part of the fun. You know this is unrealistic, yet, we're so drawn into it, it's extremely enjoyable. That's due to (#4 below) the dialogue and character depth that acts as a (no coincidence) diversion to the improbability of what's happening on screen.

Number Four: The dialogue was original, deep, snappy and quotable from line one. Speaking of which, those first two words spoken, by both the probation officer and repeated by Daniel Ocean, "Good Morning" seriously became my tagline, no matter the time of day. I would walk into Santisi Brothers, my local pub and watering hole for going on ten years and tell my favorite waitresses "Good Morning." I did it so much, that I didn't catch myself sometimes and some newbie's would tell me it was evening. I always replied, "It's morning somewhere."

I mention that story because this movie had such an impact on me, it became part of my subconscious. Oh, and there's plenty more lines I absolutely love: "Whiskey. And whiskey." "I only lied about being a thief and I don't do that anymore. – Steal? – Lie." "All reds!" There's more than a hundred more. Admittedly, some still go over my head including ones about the caper lifestyle I'm not familiar with. Though I can't necessarily follow what an "Ella Fitzgerald" is, it just proves how brilliant this movie is. (And no, I refuse to Google it. I love my ignorance and the movie's intelligence.) It's nice to revisit a movie and either hear/catch things I haven't before or enjoy the dialogue I did.

Number Five: I get cranky when it comes to Vegas-Themed movies. They rarely get it right – Con Air and 21 being the most offensive and misappropriated views of the city. This movie got it right. And it was gorgeous. Though now a (only a tad) bit dated – it's 9 years old, after all, it still captures the essence of the beautiful strip, inside the casino and out. It doesn't just take the finale in front of the Bellagio water fountains to tell you: they knew Vegas.

Number Six: Simply intelligence. This script was perfect. Rarely will I encounter such a well written, well rounded script from minute one to the end where they introduce Julia Roberts. Everything worked here, from dialogue, to interactions, to tension, to comedy. In a word: masterpiece in writing.

If you have yet to experience Ocean's Eleven, you are missing out on a modern classic. Whether or not you like George Clooney or Bad Guys as heroes, you will love this. This worked in 2001 and will be timeless enough to be shown in 2050 and have the same impact. SEE IT!

They are having more fun than me

[valleyjohn · 7/10 · 5 February 2021]

When i first watched Ocean's Eleven my overriding thought was that these guys are having more fun than me. Twenty years later i decided to re-watch to see if my opinion had changed at all but no , They still were having more fun than me!

Dapper Danny Ocean is a man of action. Less than 24 hours into his parole from a New Jersey penitentiary, the wry, charismatic thief is already rolling out his next plan. Following three rules: Don't hurt anybody, don't steal from anyone who doesn't deserve it, and play the game like you've got nothing to lose. Danny orchestrates the most sophisticated, elaborate casino heist in history.

I believe this film has a better reputation than it deserves. Don't get me wrong , its mildly entertaining but for the most part it's very unremarkable. The biggest problem i have is there is no jeopardy. Terry Benedict , played by Andy Garcia is supposed to be this big time casino owner who you do not steal from but there is very little indication that he is a menace or a gangster and the fact that they are having fun backs that up.

Now to the elephant in the room. Don Cheadle. Some people may find his accent hilarious and he may even be doing an English accent badly on purpose but think it's unforgivable. and lazy. Surely they could afford an accent coach to at least make him sound slightly authentic.

Ocean's Eleven is an example of style of over substance and the 1960's version is no different. You can have have as many big stars as you like but if the story isn't interesting enough it makes no difference

You know, I don't get it.

[konover · 5/10 · 16 November 2002]

Ocean's 11 isn't a bad movie. It's just too familiar. Caper movies are caper movies, but Ocean's 11 acts like it's covering new ground when it isn't. I caught this movie at a dollar theater and I thought: Soderbergh? Clooney? Roberts? Pitt? Garcia? Gould? Cheadle? Damon? How could I go wrong?

What follows is an extremely predictable series of events that I saw coming way before I was supposed to. For example, as soon as we find out Clooney used to be married to Julia Roberts and is now seeing Andy Garcia, we can easily see what will unfold an hour and change later. The Clooney-Roberts relationship is an unconvincing, tired cliche, and it takes the whole movie to show us the predictable results.

As soon as Clooney discusses his extravagant and unlikely plot, we know he's going to get away with it. And when the twist arrives, you just shrug and say ok. Soderbergh is one of my favorite directors and while he occasionally brings up the occasional vibrant scene, he can't get past what is easily one of the most predictable capers in recent times. Just about everything in the movie telegraphs its punches.

I also saw Heist and The Score, but those movies had dynamic dialogue, dynamic relationships, dynamic performances and enough verisimilitude to draw you into the caper and leave you wondering what the characters were going to get away with. The dynamic in Ocean's 11 is "Look how cool we are." There's very little danger. You never get the sense that the characters are real people and therefore we never really care about them. The only exception being Carl Reiner's Saul.

Clooney and company are fun to watch for the most part, but the story is strictly by-the-numbers entertainment with Soderbergh only occasionally pausing to inject some welcome Soderbergh-like visuals.

All in all, it's not a total misfire, but it could've been trimmed and would've benefitted from an injection of humanity and originality. Highly recommended for people who haven't seen very many capers. Everyone else, don't expect the movie to blow you away.

a pleasant souffle of a film

[Buddy-51 · 27 July 2002]

Steven Soderbergh's remake of `Ocean's Eleven' is a stylish heist picture featuring some of the brightest stars in moviemaking today. The cast includes George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, and Matt Damon from the A-list, as well as such established veterans as Andy Garcia, Elliot Gould and Carl Reiner in there playing along with them. Coming right off the heels of two highly acclaimed, award-laden serious dramas (`Traffic' and `Erin Brockovich'), it's understandable that Soderbergh might have been in the mood for something a little lighter in tone right about now. Well, he has certainly found it with this property, which sails along smoothly like a well-oiled machine, with no angst-filled messages or heavy-handed themes to gum up the works.

Taking the basic premise from the original 1960 film (which featured a who's-who of Hollywood stars of its own day), Soderbergh has updated it to reflect the advanced technological realities of the 21st Century. In this film, recently paroled Daniel Ocean (Clooney) has decided to mastermind the robbing of not one but three major Las Vegas casinos all owned by the nefarious Terry Benedict (Garcia). The rub is that Benedict has also recently added Ocean's ex-wife, Tess (Roberts), to his list of assets, which gives Ocean additional incentive to take Benedict for everything he's got. One of the amazing things is that the filmmakers use an actual casino as their target (the Bellagio) rather than devising a fictional one for their story's purpose. One might think it could give certain audience members the wrong ideas. Be that as it may, the director does a fine job exploiting the Vegas setting, taking us right into the heart of casino operations.

A film like `Ocean's Eleven' stands or falls on the charisma of its stars, the intricacy of its plotting and the plausibility of its actions. Luckily for the audience, the film pretty much succeeds on all three counts. Scenarist Ted Griffin does a fine job gathering together the men who will participate in the heist, allowing each a moment or two to define his character and to become part of the team. The details of the plan itself are explained in very clear terms so that we rarely feel as if we are not able to follow the action. There is even an inspired use of `Clair de Lune' near the end of the picture to lend an air of romanticism to the accomplishment, for who would deny that such large-scale thievery has often carried with it a certain element of idealism and romance? After all, look how many books and films have featured robbers as heroes. It perhaps explains why Tess can go from being a principled, law-abiding citizen at the beginning of the film to being an accomplice in crime at the end, all for the love of a man – and we cheer her for it.

Unlike in Soderbergh's other films, we do not find hidden depths lurking beneath the shining handsome surface of this movie, and we certainly carry no nutritious food for thought away with us from this film as we did from the others. In fact, `Ocean's Eleven' is all ABOUT shining handsome surface and it makes no pretension of being about anything else. It's cinematic junk food of the highest order, but, then, since when has junk food not been satisfying?

Smart Crime Thriller

[mjw2305 · 8/10 · 26 January 2005]

A remake of a rat pack film, this was a brave venture to take on, and thank you Steven Soderbergh for this valiant effort.

Retaining a good cast, Soderbergh has modified this movie to fit with the times, and he has helped create a very slick and stylish thriller.

Danny Ocean, wants to pull off the crime of the century, by ripping off three Casino's at the same time, while at the same time settling a score or two with the casino's owner. With the help of ten others, he might just do it. Or is he not quite as smart as he appears to be.

8/10

Recommended

Great heist movie

[danielmanson · 8/10 · 11 April 2020]

This film delivered more than what I was expecting. Plot was fantastic and kept me on edge several times as they were doing the heist, acting was great and overall it just really hooked me in. Considering there was 11 in the squad as well I never lost track of the characters which is quite common in films which contain a lot of main characters. To sum up if you haven't watched yet I'd definitely give it a go. I'm going straight into the sequels now

Only real negative to this is that I just wasn't bothered by the romantic/love side of the plot. I could not care less if Clooney got his ex-wife back or not. It just seemed a bit pointless in the grand scheme of things. It didn't take anything away from the film, but it didn't hook me in as the heist did.

Overall a nice heist movie, with some weird issues.

[anniesri · 7/10 · 29 May 2020]

Tess is portrayed to be such a dumb person. What's up with that? You don't go back to your bank-robber ex husband because your current husband won't give up the company's 160 Millions for you.

Other then this, the movie is a nice one-time watch. Not a masterpiece, but certainly not horrible.

Great cast, smart, entertaining and hasn't aged a bit!

[vithiet · 8/10 · 5 December 2020]

While you need a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief, everything is so well done and works so well together that it's very easy to just enjoy the ride. From the acting to the directing and pacing, this is one slick movie I really recommend!

Making the most of an average concept

[exterminator_99 · 6/10 · 10 January 2002]

Movie goers around the world undoubtably drooled at the prospect of a movie carrying four heavyweight, A-list actors and the hottest director of the moment. "Ocean's Eleven", a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack caper, contains these expensive commodities. Directed by Oscar winner Steven Soderbergh and starring (deep breath here...) George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and Matt Damon, this movie was sure to make Roadshow Entertainment a bucketload of money on the premise alone. It has done so, and while it may not be the world's most original and inspiring movie, it is a solid piece of entertainment, pleasing critics and audiences alike.

Clooney is the title character, Daniel Ocean, a compulsive thief who has just been released from prison. Upon leaving lock-up he has already devised a plan to knock off three of Las Vegas' biggest casino's, all in one night! Realsing he needs the best criminals in the business to pull off this massive heist he sets out on a sort of "Dirty Dozen" (minus one) round up of robbery genuises.

This ensemble of characters hits and misses. Clooney is excellent as Ocean. He is classicly stylish, very smooth and ultra-cool. Pitt plays Dusty Ryan, a card shark and general villan with a heart of gold. Since "Fight Club", Pitt has chosen solid and varied roles. His portrayl of Dusty is spot on, you instantly like the character and admire is style and charisma. Don Cheadle is great as Basher Tarr, pulling off a decent English accent as the explosives expert. Scott Caan and Casey Afleck play Turk and Virgil Molloy and provide the comic relief of the film. Matt Damon has an understated role as Linus Cauldwell, the pickpocket of the group. Perhaps most memorable of all, despite his limited screentime is Elliot Gould as Reuben Tishkoff, an outrageously over the top former casino owner. Swathed in gold and diamonds and sporting some hideously cool sunglasses, he hams his role perfectly as the jewish millionaire.

Other characters are not as memorable or effective, but fulfill their roles enough to compensate for their lack of charisma. Andy Garcia is effective as casino owner Terry Benedict. It's great to see him back in an A-list move for the first time in a while. Julia Roberts' role is small and more supporting that lead billing, but she plays Clooney's ex-wife to a tee.

Soderbergh has a firm grip on proceedings and the film only lapses in a few instances. The quality of camerawork and the tightness of editing is commendable and as an audience we are thankful that it is Soderbergh in control and not some MTV-style, music video director. His contribution ensures that the film delivers on both an entertainment and artistic level.

The film contains equal amounts of romance, laughs, action and dramatic tension and is enjoyable right the way along. It may not be the best work of any of its key contributors but any film that can charm picky critics and audiences with a very small attention span is bound to be a hit. Let's hope for more movies that can pull this difficult task off in the future.

One of the Best Heist Movies Ever

[john-life5 · 10/10 · 28 May 2007]

When you want to steal $160 million in cash from a huge casino in Vegas, you can either do it with force, or you can do it in a sneaky way. Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his gang map out the casino and find a way to get down into the vault without anyone knowing what is going on until Rusty (Brad Pitt) calls the owner of the casino, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) to state the terms. A large reason for the heist was that Benedict was going out with Danny's sexy ex-wife (Julia Roberts) and he wanted her back. The key to Danny and Linus (Matt Damon) getting into the vault was a device that Basher (Don Cheadle) stole, a bomb powerful enough to wipe out the power of Las Vegas. Not many people would find a movie about stealing money entertaining, but the way that this one was made certainly can catch people's eye. I really think that it is one of the best of the new decade.

Worse cockney accent since Bert in Mary Poppins

[suepalmer1957 · 6/10 · 18 August 2018]

Don Cheadle didn't want to be billed in this movie, because he was having a strop about the order. He needed to do better (he is a great actor) and he should have been replaced with Idris Alba for a real London accent, instead of his shocking attempt as his Cockney rhyming slang. It was painful!

Should have been a 10

[harveyvilla · 9/10 · 2 May 2019]

But for Don Cheadle's absolutely awful British accent. Surely the producers could have found a genuine English actor for this role. Each time he was on screen I had to mute the sound.

Not as Good as I Expected

[adam_c_1995 · 6/10 · 11 April 2020]

I'd heard good things, so maybe went in with too high expectations. It's entertaining, but nothing ground breaking.

The plot of Clooney's character motivated to do the job to get back at his wife (get back with her?) I thought was cliche and dull.

Overall not bad, but not great.

On a sidenote, Cheadle's British accent I think is the worst attempt I've ever heard of it by any human never mind actor? So instant -1 just for that. Why not just have him be American or use an actual cockney actor if you must have that accent. So bad.

So Bad That You Root For The Casino To Win!

[TBoldOne · 1/10 · 14 November 2009]

Why do modern movies not have original ideas? This movie is horrid. Everyone knows that this is a remake of the classic 1960 of the same name. There are so many things that are bad about this movie that I can only focus on the most egregious problems.

First - NO CHEMISTRY. That character development is so bad that you end up rooting for the casino! They try to portray the casino owner, who's supposed to be Steve Wynn, as some kind of jerk. I found him to be a sympathetic character. In a heist picture, you are supposed to have sympathy for the crooks. Otherwise, they are just jerks who decide to steal because they are too lazy to make an honest living. Well the movie makes the bad guys look like jerks, and the casino out to be the hero. One wag once said, "Rooting for the Yankee's is like cheering for the house to win in Blackjack." I found myself cheering for the house.

Second JULIA ROBERTS. She can't act, and is not beautiful. She is the source of the dramatic tension in the movie. I just don't get it.

Third TOTALLY PREDICTABLE ENDING. You just knew that the cops coming into the building were fake, and would walk out with the loot. There are so many plot holes, that it strained credulity. The originals plot was more believable, and it was not supposed to be realistic.

Fourth ACTORS LOOKED BORED. Clooney, Damon, and Roberts looked bored to tears. To me it was obvious that they were there to pick up a paycheck.

Overall, horrid, bad, terrible, disjointed. The only rip-off in this movie is to the people who paid to see it in the theater, or worse bought the DVD. I can't believe they made two sequels to this turd.