Ocean's Twelve (2004)

Rating: 3 Stars (out of 4)

Faker's Dozen

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Ocean's Twelve on DVD.

Steven Soderbergh reunites the crew from his hit Ocean's Eleven, adding Catherine Zeta-Jones as a Europol agent with romantic connections to Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt). The plot has angry Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) tracking down the crew that stole $160 million from the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas and demanding retribution. If they don't pay, their lives are over. So the crew flees to Amsterdam to look into an even bigger job to pay off the first one. This leads to competition with an expert thief, Francois Toulour (Vincent Cassell), to see who can steal a priceless jeweled egg first. The new film is just as cool and smart as the original, getting by more on personality and charisma than on logic or plot. (Don't bother counting the holes.) Unlike the slick, expensive-looking first film, Soderbergh crafts this sequel more like his superb English thriller The Limey (1999), painting in a gritty hue with arty, jumpy editing, while the exciting, throbbing score draws heavily from Quentin Tarantino's clever song selections in Kill Bill. Virtually all of the cast members have worked with Soderbergh before, which helps keep things intimate and enhances the fun. Yet Ocean's Twelve keeps its characters at a distance; they entertain us -- and each other -- with their witty talk, but that's as far as it goes. It's like being invited to spy on a great party without ever going inside. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Zeta-Jones and Julia Roberts command the center of attention, while supporters Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Elliot Gould and various and assorted "surprise" guests round out the proceedings. George Nolfi (Timeline) scripted.

DVD Details: Perhaps wisely not drawing too much attention to itself, Warner Home Video's DVD comes with only a trailer.

Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Elliot Gould, Shaobo Qin, Carl Reiner, Vincent Cassell, Bruce Willis, Cherry Jones, Topher Grace
Written by: George Nolfi, based on a story and characters by George Clayton Johnson, Jack Golden Russell
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for language
Running Time: 130 minutes
Date: December 10, 2004