Ocean's Twelve

TWELVE IS THE NEW ELEVEN

Watched Oceans' Twelve last night at PVR - Cinema Europa. I was quite excited to see what O12 would be like after the brilliant heist of the Bellagio in O11.

In Oceans' Eleven or most heist films for that matter, watching the heist itself unfold is the big payoff. Watching it switchback, double-over, reverse, tie a knot, is a pure joy and the heist in this film (although convuluated and outrageous) is quite entertaining. There are moments when you guess and it comes out right and then there are moments where you are left waiting for the solution. In the end, the crooks get away with the money and the con is played out successfully like we all hope it is.

O12 didn't appeal to me as much as O11 did. In 011, every member had his role to play in the heist. They were people with special skills and their skills were tastefully used at some point in the movie. O12 lacks that.

There are a great deal of things to like about this movie. My favorite bit has Tess joining the gang in the eleventh hour by impersonating a famous actress (can you guess who?). Along with that comes a pretty fun Bruce Willis extended cameo.

I laughed a few times, mostly at Brad Pitt. I really like his Rusty character (even if he is eating in every scene again this time). I enjoyed some of the clever camera work, and the cheesy throwback title overlays. Zeta-Jones was fine as Rusty’s love interest. Not great, but not bad, either. I just didn’t get a sense of fun like I did in the first one. If the gang decides to make an Ocean’s Thirteen, I will definitely see it because I love the characters. I just didn’t like where they went or what they did in this film.

Too often sequels are made to capitalize off the initial and perpetual success of a film. Too often said sequels are painful to endure.