Welcome to this first edition of Matt’s Movie Library! With Ocean’s 8 coming out this Friday, what better movies to start with than the original Ocean’s trilogy? Rather than doing a separate post for each, I’ll just knock them all out here in one. Overall I love the Ocean’s movies, so I am a bit worried about this spin-off. I’m cautiously optimistic about Ocean’s 8, but I’ll get more into that with my review once it’s out. But for now, let’s take a look back at the Steven Soderbergh-directed trilogy.
Ocean’s 11
I love this movie. Absolutely love it. It’s one of my all-time favorites. There are just so many great things about this movie. The chemistry among all members of Ocean’s crew is perfect. Any time you have an ensemble cast this large, you’d have to think some part of it wouldn’t quite work. Not here. Everyone clicks. And that’s especially true with George Clooney’s Danny Ocean and Brad Pitt’s Rusty Ryan. The chemistry between those two is some of the best you’ll see in any movie. Matt Damon’s Linus Caldwell is also great. Those are some of my favorite roles for all three actors.
One of my favorite parts of the movie (there are tons to choose from; the ending is also great) is the introduction to the team. This kind of scene can often turn out clunky and awkward. But this scene kills it. It gives just enough information on each member to let us know who they are, but doesn’t spend excessive time with any one guy.
(Apologies for the less-than-great quality, it was the only clip I could find that had the whole scene)
To put it simply, this movie just works. You’re familiar with the “law of diminishing returns?” There no diminishing returns with repeat viewings of this masterpiece. Ocean’s 11 just might be the exception that proves the rule. Really, there’s not much else to say. If you’ve seen it, you know. If you haven’t, I don’t know what you’ve been doing with your life, but you need to make some better life choices.
My rating: 91/100
Ocean’s 12
The definition of “disappointing sequel.” To be fair, it does have its fair share of goodness. Clooney and Pitt’s on-screen chemistry is again fantastic. We get some of Linus who is great in a bit of an expanded role. The laser dance scene, while completely improbable impossible, is still an awesome visual scene, one of the coolest looking of the trilogy.
But the bad parts…well, they’re pretty bad. The heist twist tried to play off the charm from 11, but it was a swing-and-a-miss this time. There were no real hints to it and it pretty much just negated everything else we had just seen. The first heist, at the home of the agoraphobe, was also problematic. It was explicitly stated how impossible it was to pull off. It took the entire team to lift the entire building just to get them into the home. But Toulour is able to get in seemingly without any problems? Even if he’s good, the best even, is he actually that good? But the movie is fun enough where those could have been forgivable. There are really two big issues I have that really drop it down for me.
The first is Linus’s mom. I thought, and still think, this was a dumb twist. They tried to get too cute with it and it just didn’t hit for me. It was just too…convenient for my liking. And they go back to the well in Ocean’s 13 with Linus’s dad, which was only marginally better.
That was bad, but by far the worst thing about this movie (one of my least favorite things of any movie I’ve ever seen, if I’m being completely honest) is the whole Julia Roberts mess. It was just plain stupid, and was done so incredibly awkwardly. Even now, I either fast forward, mute, or turn the volume way down during this stretch. I can’t handle it. It’s brutal to watch. I would rather watch the the school scene from “Scott’s Tots” (which I have ranked as the 2nd worst episode of The Office) than watch the Julia Roberts-playing-Tess-playing Julia Roberts debacle. I hated it the first time I saw it, and I’ve hated it every time since.
At the end of the day, it’s still an Ocean’s movie; that counts for something. I can’t rate it too low. I have no problem rewatching it if I decide to rewatch all three. But whereas I will watch 11 or 13 on their own, I will never watch just 12.
My rating: 75/100
Ocean’s 13
What a relief this was to see them come back with a successful final entry after Ocean’s 12. It didn’t quite reach the same charm as Ocean’s 11, but it was for sure a few steps back in the right direction. That being said, the cast of the movie really lifted it up and helped move past some definite plot issues. The ease of which they’re able to infiltrate every company they need to is a bit preposterous. They have seemingly unlimited resources to do anything and everything they need to do. And what do they do when they finally aren’t able to do something themselves (buy the drill)? They go to the man whose vault they ROBBED OF OVER $150 MILLION. While he has certain conditions that must be met, he is all too quick to agree to help, all because of some machismo rivalry with Willy Bank.
But that being said, the bottom line is that Ocean’s 13 is a good time; it’s a fun movie to watch. The amount of entertainment a movie provides is a huge chunk of what I go off for rating movies. The more I enjoy watching a movie, the more I’m okay with overlooking plot holes, bad characters, etc. Now that’s obviously a bit of a push-pull situation, as bad twists or plot problems can lessen the enjoyment. But what it comes down to for here is the cast. This group is nothing short of fantastic and they’re a true joy to watch.
The Malloy brothers, Turk (Scott Caan) and Virgil (Casey Affleck), are especially great in this third edition. They’re awesome in all three, but they really shined here. The dice factory, evicting the hotel reviewer, taking over the drill for Basher, changing their identities on the files Bank is getting on Livingston’s associates. It’s all gold.
My rating: 84/100
So there we have it, one of my all-time favorite movie trilogies. The combination of cast chemistry, humor, action, drama, the heists. Even with the weaker Ocean’s 12, overall it’s still a great trilogy, one that deserves a watch at least every year or two, if not more often. Here’s hoping Ocean’s 8 can continue that success.
