Last Friday Debbie and I went to the Irvine Spectrum for dinner and a movie. Wanting someting light, airy and fairly easy to digest we opted for PF Changs and Ocean’s 13. My only hope and expectation of the movie was that it wouldn’t suck like Ocean’s 12. On that front it delivered.
In this third installment of Danny Ocean’s adventures we find our hunky thieves rallying to Reuben’s aid, who fell victim to the schemes of Willy Bank [Al Pacino] and lost all of his cash. It’s just business as usual for Bank who takes delight in being a ruthless casino owner and enjoys that he put Reuben in the hospital with a heart attack. So the gang reunites for revenge to bankrupt Bank just as his spectacular new casino opens. They plot earthquakes, riots, rigged games and even join forces with former enemy Terry Benedict [Andy Garcia] to bring Bank down.
We watch Ocean and his merry band of men foil their foe with ease and without breaking a sweat. The movie hums along with its usual brand of sophistication and humor. Of course you know they’ll crack the code, steal the money, get the girl and look good doing it. I think we all either want to be Danny Ocean or date him.
I didn’t feel like Willy Bank was all that interesting of a nemesis in this film. It seems like Al Pacino’s character was written for a 1930’s gangster film. He’s cliche and trite. All he needs is a big mustache to twirl and a cackle laugh. He is so self-absorbed he doesn’t believe that Ocean can do anything to him. I’m not an Al Pacino fan so his character just falls flat for me. He’s not as fun to hate as Benedict.
Interestingly in this movie there is no real love interest. Tess [Roberts] and Isabel [Zeta-Jones] are dismissed at the beginning of the film with one flippant remark from Ocean that “this was not their fight.” Ellen Barkin plays a throw away pawn as Bank’s right hand woman. She is briefly used by Linus [Damon] but doesn’t really provide the intrigue that Tess or Isabel did in Ocean’s 11 and 12. So this is all about the boys.
In the end, its a fun tale with a predictable story. But the intricacies of the plot are not the reason you go to this movie. A little eye candy always nice on a Friday night.
Filed under: Friendshipping, Pop Culture
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