Swim With The Sharks In Ocean’s Thirteen

Las Vegas is the ultimate glamour fantasy. In a way, it’s the opposite of Ellis Island, a place that symbolizes the spirit of making it through hard work. Vegas, meanwhile, allows us to imagine what it would be like to wake up one day and have everything we ever wanted thrust upon us for no apparent reason. Or maybe that we can make it happen just by concocting a little zany scheme.

The thrill of Ocean’s Thirteen is not just the success of the zany scheme, but the fact that it was a zany scheme of such a large and glamorous scale. It doesn’t get any more glamorous than staring down a Las Vegas hotel and casino.

Because of the scheme’s complicated and grandiose nature, the movie was a bit hard to follow before everything clarifies itself. They’re trying to weave in, among other things, a workers riot in Mexico and a man-made natural disaster into this ridiculous undertaking. I had to slap myself a few times to remember why certain things were taking place.

But as events unfold according to plan for conman Danny Ocean (George Clooney), you can’t help but marvel at how complicated everything is and how it all fits together so perfectly. It’s just a load of fun to say, “Oh, that’s why they did this,” or, “I can’t believe it worked that way!”

When ambitious hotel tycoon Willy Bank (Al Pacino) screws one of Ocean’s friends, Reuben Tishkoff (Elliot Gould), out of a hotel deal, Ocean enlists his crew to help sabotage and completely destroy the hotel’s opening. For this they plan to rig the games, thwart an impeccable security system and make a hotel inspector’s life a living hell.

Organizing and presenting every aspect of this conspiracy as it unfolds proves to be a bit difficult for director Steven Soderbergh. A veteran of handling unorthadox unfoldings of plot with films such as The Limey and Traffic, Soderbergh nevertheless makes it difficult to fully grasp each aspect of the scheme, as he jumps around without giving enough thought in one scene to give an adequate grasp of what’s happening. Maybe that’s the point though. Maybe we wouldn’t be able to experience that magical moment of clarity at the end if we could figure out beforehand what was supposed to happen. It’s a sacrifice Soderbergh made, and it does pay off.

Our characters here waste very little time talking about anything other than what they’re trying to accomplish. Believe me, this is a major plus. Ocean’s Thirteen is a movie that does not force its characters to look beyond the immediate scope of their actions into the realms of understanding so few people achieve, such as the meaning life and the definition of happiness and the morality of what they’re doing. It’s remarkable how many movies do this without considering whether or not their characters can handle it. I’ve always felt it awkward, but the way Ocean’s Thirteen runs without helps me realize how silly it truly is.

Willy Bank is no different than any other greedy, backstabbing businessman one might imagine. What makes Bank great is that he is played by Al Pacino, an actor who always adds fire to a character whenever he speaks. Ocean’s Thirteen being one of the few big name movies he’s done lately, Pacino handles it with care, not one to overshadow the extravaganza that’s going on in Ocean’s realm. Still, he lowers the boom better than anyone, as he does in the beginning when he tells Reuben to go jump in a lake. His best days may remain in the 70s, but one thing no one can ever deny about Pacino is that he packs a wallop.

George Clooney proves successful as Bank’s low-key adversary. He’s that cool, calculating, suave personality that blends with Pacino’s intensity. Elliot Gould impresses in his cameo as Reuben. Everyone else is really just there. Pitt and Damon basically play poor man’s versions of Clooney’s Ocean, although Damon gets a chance to shine in his seduction of Abigail (Ellen Barkin), Banks’ straitlaced assistant.

All of this being said, it occurs to me that perhaps the biggest reason I like Ocean’s Thirteen so much is that I didn’t see Ocean’s Eleven or Ocean’s Twelve. Seeing the entire trilogy might get a bit tedious, what with each supposedly “greatest heist ever” getting topped again and again. Yes, the world of Ocean’s Thirteen is probably a lot like a Vegas casino; if you’re there too long, you’ll wonder why you wasted so much money.

Grade: B+