Who goes to jail in a tux, I mean real!!! No credits, can't find any
Conman and trickster Danny Ocean (George Clooney) is released from prison on parole, wasting no time in tracking down his partner-in-crime Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), with a little help from con man & card dealer Frank Catton (Bernie Mac). Danny finds Rusty bored and depressed in Los Angeles, teaching celebrities how to play poker, but they're really bad at it. Danny and Rusty pull an instant con on them, splitting the money and walking off into the night. In a late-night grill, Danny proposes a heist to Rusty, hitting three casinos in one night: the Bellagio, the Mirage, and the MGM Grand. All these buildings are owned by on Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), who is famous for being ruthless when it comes to his properties.
You see, someone who dresses worse than me! No credits, can't find any.
They approach Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), an ex-casino owner whose previous casino is being demolished, all at the hands of Benedict in a power move (you see, Benedict is not a nice man, uses too much hair gel to be a good guy). Seeing the change at revenge, as well as the change to wear some awful glasses, Reuben decides to finance the operation. With the money sorted, they went hunting for colleagues.
To help them with their grand scheme, they recruited Frank Cotton, tech expert & walking nervous wreck Livingston Dell (Eddie Jemison), explosive guru Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle, with an OTT cockney accent, somehow still better than Damon Alburn's real-life accent), elderly con man Saul Bloom (Carl Reiner - rest in peace you comedy genius), mechanics and constantly fighting brothers Virgil & Turk Malloy (Casey Affleck & Scott Caan), greasy man/acrobat "The Amazing" Yen (Qin Shaobo), and finally, pickpocket Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon), who was recommended to Danny by Linus father.
Rusty & Saul at the races, God bless you Carl Renier RIP No credits, couldn't find any
The gang have a meeting at Reuben's house, where they are shown all the things they have to overcome for the heist to succeed. On the night that they are planning to rob the vault of these casinos, a major fight between Lennox Lewis & Wladimir Klitschko (playing themselves), the Nevada gaming commission insists that the vault has to have enough cash on hand to cover all their patrons' bets. On that night, they will need to have at the very minimum, $150,000,000 without breaking a sweat. Not going to lie, I would be swayed too, but I've got no skills for such a job, probably just as well. Then again, I am very good at talking bullshit about movies and music, maybe there is a place for me. Fingers crossed!!!!
Everybody wants her, but nobody knows her!!! - No credits, can't find any
Over the next week and a bit, the crew build a replica of the casino in a warehouse, to go over the job, as well as carry out surveillance in the hotels, so they can figure out how to get in and out, the pathways of the security, etc. Linus is given the job of tailing Terry Benedict, which he does admirably. When Rusty is with him, to see how he is doing, he sees Benedict's girlfriend, Tess (Julia Roberts). Who just so happens to be the ex-wife of Danny Ocean. Yes, you guessed it, Danny has an ulterior motive, who'd have thought that these two things would dovetail together!!!!
Rusty, obviously rather pissed off that Danny had kept this discovery from the team, has a little verbal barney with Danny. Danny admits that it's both he is after, giving Rusty the power to pull Danny out of the team if it was to the determent of the job. This is an important detail for later, more about that soon. Meanwhile, Reuben's old casino is demolished which knocks out the power to Las Vegas, causing problems for Basher. This is due to the authorities finding an issue with their utilities, something that Basher was going to exploit, but this was not now possible. He talks to the crew and they go to steal a pinch (an electromagnetic device which can knock out the electronics off a large area, but without causing permanent damage). In this little heist, Linus and Danny get into a shouting match after Linus didn't follow instructions, Lin damages his hand as it's trapped in a door and there's a big cloud of negativity hanging over the group.
Damn you Linus, we could have made it home in time for Letterman! No credits, can't find any.
Then, things get worse for Danny, a lot worse. As the group had managed to piggyback onto Benedict's security network, they found that Danny had been "Red Flagged", which meant that security would be watching him like a hawk. This had come about as he had met with Tess (who was not pleased to see him), Benedict had turned up, was overly cordial and firm with Ocean, hinting that he did not expect to see him again. Linus who was still pissed off from having his ass torn open by Danny, dropped him in it, as he'd been tailing Danny too, as he was tailing Benedict. Rusty upon hearing all of this, kicked Danny out of the heist, pointing out that Danny had said that no-one was bigger than the job. Remember the earlier conversation, it'll become important again, trust me....secrets!
With Danny out of the group and d-day approaching, Linus has to take Danny's role in the heist, playing a Nevada State Gaming Agent. Saul has been staying in the hotel as a rich weapon's seller, who asks Benedict if he can place some jewels in the vault and everyone is going through their parts and getting ready. They keep focusing on different pieces of furniture, cars and they keep looping into each other. It's rather fun to see how some of these things become important later, but back to the plot!
What you don't know, is that Saul and Terry are looking for Linda. They're both huge fans of Hue & Cry! No credits, can't find any.
Fight night has arrived, Saul has arranged for his package to be delivered, which Benedict will let him view going to the vault from the security centre, as he smells something doggy with Saul. See, the villain cannot be totally fooled, he knows there's something fishy going on. When Benedict is going through the casino, he spots Danny on the casino floor. Danny quickly catches up with Tess to say goodbye and is then confronted by two bouncers. These men have been tasked by Benedict to take Ocean to a room in the back, a room without cameras. Whilst in there, the security step out as a big, tattooed bouncer comes in. The bouncer punches Danny, but he is told off by Danny, he tells him he's supposed to hit him after the heist! See, he's still involved. Maybe I should have written "spoiler" before that...Oh well, too late now (plus this movie is really old, you should have seen it by now). The bouncer, named Bulldog (played by Scott L. Schwartz, who also appears in first three Ocean films) is actually a gentle guy, which is rather sweet. But yeah, he does punch people for a living, so you know, you can never judge a book by its cover. However, he helps Danny into the ventilation system, this is important for later.
Who is the player, place your bets!!! No credits, can't find any
The plan is now live, Linus interrupts Benedict to take Frank Cotton to the back, exposing him as working under an alias. This is all to get the security codes for the lift out of Benedicts pocket, which is done via a pick-pocket/misdirection moment (this is known as a Jim Browm, the cons are all given little names, so of cute and make you spend far too much time looking for them on the internet, which makes to police knock on your door.....so I've been told). As Linus makes his way to the lift, the security team can see this and are about to send goons to stop him, but Saul (who is still in the security room, watching his package) fakes a heart attack. This gives Livingston the chance to change to security feed to a loop of an empty elevator. When Linus is in the lift and opens the top, Danny is there waiting for him, having been waiting for him since being helped by Bulldog earlier on. See, told you it was important. Linus realises that Danny had wanted Linus to catch him following Tess, as this was part of the secret sub-plan all along. In the meantime, Rusty, Virgil & Turk dress up as a medical team to take out Saul from the security room, hamming it up with some really bad acting.
At this point, Benedict and Tess (with Reuben in the background to give him an alibi) are at the boxing match. Yen is already in the vault, having been smuggled in a deposit box, and is placing the jewels in Saul's case on the door, as they're explosive (what a shock). As the fight is about to go off, Danny and Linus are hanging under the lift, awaiting the signal to drop. They can't go straight away, due to the security lasers in the lift shaft. This signal comes when Basher uses the pinch to knock out the electrics in Las Vegas. Chaos erupts, Linus and Danny drop down the lift shaft and everything is in an uproar. Benedict and Tess leave the match and a phone rings in Tess's jacket, a phone which was planted there by Danny earlier. Rusty is on the line, who informs Benedict of the robbery which is currently occurring. This may seem like a strange strategy but wait for a few moments, as there are more twists to come. It's almost as if it was last summer, happier times.
Wait, we have to get home for Baywatch! No credits, can't find any
Benedict asks Tess to go up to their luxury apartment in the hotel, whilst he stays in the security area. Danny and Linus blow their way into the vault, almost blowing up Yen, whos bandage was stuck in the door (due to Linus from earlier on). But thankfully, the acrobat still has all his limbs, but he is a little pissed at the delay. Back in the security room, Rusty has Livingston turn the camera to a live-stream of the vault, showing the gang robbing Benedict. Benedict silently gets his head of security to call the cops, whilst appearing to agree to let the robbers take how the funds in his vault. The robbers place cases in the lift which are placed in a van (that is being controlled by a robot), which is followed by Benedict's security team. Once the van stops at a private airport, the security team go to stop the van from fleeing, but when they approach the van it explodes. They report back that the bags that were placed in the van were full of hooker flyers.
At this point, Benedict is in the vault with the S.W.A.T. team, looking at the wreckage of the room. He angrily asks the Police to leave, which they do (rather suspicious if you ask me, but I'm a cynic at heart). All alone, he looks at the floor and asks the security team to re-run the tape of the robbery. He asks them if the Bellagio logo on the mat is shown on the video, which is confirmed to be missing from the tape. He realises that they've been duped, that the footage was from a replica of the vault, so he goes to speak to Danny. In a montage sequence, you see that when the head of security called the Police, the team diverted the call to Livingston, who pretended to be the police. You then see the S.W.A.T. team (who is really the gang, playing dress-up) assist Danny, Yen and Linus bagging up the real cash, blow up the vault and walk out with the cash.
Just as the penny drops.... No credits, can't find any
Benedict opens the door to where Danny is being held, to find Mr Ocean in the middle of his "beating" from Bulldog. You see, it's all about timing. Benedict asks Danny if he had anything to do with "it" (hinting at the robbery, but not specifically saying he'd been robbed), Danny looks confused and claims innocence. Hearing this, Terry releases Danny, asking his security to guide him out of the building. At the same time, the gang call Tess in the fancy apartment, telling her to turn on her TV. She sees a feed of Danny and Terry talking, where Benedict says he'd give up Tess to get his money back. As you'd expect, Tess takes this to heart. Danny says he knows someone who could help Terry get his cash back, but Terry tells his goons to get Ocean out of there and to hand him over to the police for violating his parole (you can't leave your home state, which was not Nevada for Danny Ocean, the bad lad).
My favourite scene of the whole film! No credits, can't find any
Benedict heads to his apartment, where Tess passes him and dumps his ass, leaving Terry to go back to his apartment alone and broke. Tess catches up with Danny as he's being led away by the Police, where they make up and he says he'll be out of prison in a few months with good behaviour. Whilst this is happening, the rest of the gang celebrate their successful heist by watching the fountain show outside The Bellagio. One by one, they walk away into the night and the screen fades to black. But it's not over! They pulled a LOTR on us, the crafty bastards! Danny is released from prison after serving his sentence, with Rusty waiting outside for him. Tess is waiting in the car, a small conversation and they finally reconcile. As they drive away, Benedict's personal goons are watching their movements, obviously following Ocean to see what has happened with the funds!
You can read the shorter and less details plot on Wikipedia here.
Pro
+ The layers in this film is ludicrous! Things that are small and in the background, like the air freshener in the van, the jewels being polished by Basham, the phone being dropped secretly in Tess's pocket, all tiny things build up into one massive perfect heist.
How is he so thin when he's eating in every scene!!! No credits, can't find any
+ This is a real team picture, everyone gets their moments to shine on the camera. You can look at them all, study them and there is not one person I could say that "X" character could be recast. It's one of the few times I think that the casting of a film is spot on, each actor and actress excels in their roles, creating a fascinating story that you can absorb yourself in. I believe Carl Renier's Saul when he is being the Russian weapons dealer, I believe Casey Affleck & Scott Caan as two brothers who live in this battle of one-ups-man-ship that is so childish and stupid. Brad Pitt eating all the time though, that's not believable (honestly, the man never stops with the food and drink in this, he should be bigger than me, must have a high metabolism, lucky bastard).
+ The visuals of this film are perfect, all the glitz, sleaze, glamour and fury are shown on screen, with the camera work almost being another member of the crew. You could argue that it's style over substance, but as this film has about a million layers to the heist, that argument is wrong and stupid.
Legend - RIP No credits, can't find any
+ The more I watch this film, the more I appreciate the understated performance of Carl Renier. He tends to be the quiet man, unless he's being the arms dealer. I love how he can steal a scene without much action, just by his sheer presence. We miss you Carl, here is hoping you're at rest now!
+ It was a nice touch to have the cameos of some of the actors from the original Ocean's 11, which started Frank Sinatra and members of The Rat Pack. Sure, they didn't drag out Frank's corpse, but Henry Silva and Angie Dickinson both appeared. The group of actors being taught to play poker consisted of Holly Marie Combs, Topher Grace, Joshua Jackson, Barry Watson and Shane West, which was fun to see them be willing to play suckers. Not everyone would be up for that, so kudos to them. On a side note, it's at times like these that I regret adding IMDb links to each actor/actress's name! Damn you past Eddie, you've given yourself too much work!
But where is Linda God damn it! No credits, can't find any
+ Andy Garcia as Terry Benedict is a believable bastard, you could see him trying to tear you apart and leave you to watch as he goes after everyone you've ever loved as well. He just seems to have a calm feeling, but you know that vicious streak is ready to pop out at any time. This would diminish in throughout the serious, but more on that in later reviews.
Con
Look at that, must be hiding something No credits, can't find any
- It's a rare case of being a flawless movie for me. I have no real cons. Well, there is just one. They used Donald Trump's casino in Atlantic City, which means his name is in big letters at one point. Must say something about one's ego to do that, bless his wounded soul, always empty and never to quenched. Yet, in the great scheme of things, that's a small thing (in terms of mushroom and cons). Shame it's no longer there, I really could use something to piss on if I was in the neighbourhood. However, back to the movie and away from the Trump bashing, I have no major issues with this movie at all.
- Well, I guess if I had one, and it's truly minor, I don't get that much of a chemistry between George Clooney and Julia Roberts on this movie. Even when they get back together, there is a feeling of distance. But it's a minor thing, as they were on bad terms (the characters) in the movie, so that could play into it.
Final Verdict
This man has no decorum! Twice in the same movie, in jail in a tux! No credits, can't find any
Oceans Eleven is a beautiful remake, a fantastic film that takes the bases of the 1960s movie and takes it in a new direction. I didn't watch this until eight years after it had been released, as I had no real desire to view it. But when it was put on, I was transfixed by it, so much so that I purchased my own copies the very next day. From the opening parole scene to the final moment where they leave the prison with the car roof coming down, there is not a wasted moment or scene in this movie.
No-one over shadows anyone else in the movie, all of the characters are essential to the end result, so nothing is wasted or unanswered. If I was to compare it to another movie, I would compare it to Where Eagles Dare. Now, both of these are vastly different, one is this movie I'm reviewing, the other is a stunning War movie with Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood. But you have the slow build through the movie, something that is small and strange at the beginning of the film becomes important towards the end. I love that forward planning, it's what links these two movies together.
Yep, Rusty's shirt is awful! No credits, can't find any.
From beginning to end, Ocean's Eleven is one of those perfect gems, a star-studded behemoth which has never been equalled by its sequels or any other heist movie before or since. I'm still wondering how it was not a shoe in for award scene when it was released, Jim Broadbent won one in the year it would have been elligible! But, that is beside the point here, as it's a winner for me. The whole package is stunning, the visual imagery a treat for the eyes, a story that keep you entertained throughout. Watch this now, why have you not watched it, watched it this moment!
10 out of ten - silver screen perfection!
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