Plot: What’s it about?
Fans of 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven will (or have already) flocked to see the sequel – Ocean’s Twelve. Admittedly, it’s not nearly as fun as the original, well the original would have been Frank Sinatra’s version, but sequels rarely are as good as their predecessors. What is good is that the entire cast returns with the addition of a few others – most notably the inclusion of the lovely Catherine Zeta-Jones (Douglas). Director Steven Soderbergh is back at the helm and again seems to walk that line between quirky humor and gritty drama. Hey, it worked in the first one so why not now? One has to wonder, though, will all of the “A” list names in the cast why this one didn’t work quite as well this time around? Was the budget spent on their salaries? The elements are there, but this one has a different vibe than the first.
Three years after the Las Vegas heist (the movie assumes Ocean’s Eleven has already been viewed) the crew has all gone their separate ways. Each of the members has, in essence, blown their millions. To make matters worse, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) has found all of the culprits and wants his money back – with interest! It’s a simple choice, really, pay him back or end up dead. With that said, all of the members of the crew get back together (in Europe this time) to pull off three different jobs to get the money to pay back Benedict. It’s also underwritten that he might be a bit peeved that Daniel (George Clooney) got his woman (Julia Roberts). So we go right back to the action with the gang plotting impossible jobs that only they can do. But (yes, there’s a “but”) they’re being followed by Isabel Lahiri (Cathernie Zeta-Jones) who is determined to stop them. Will the gang be able to pull off the heist and pay back Benedict or will they all end up dead?
I have to say that despite its predictability, I did enjoy this one. And I’ve really only seen it a few times (I’ve seen the first one on countless occasions). It follows the sequel formula to a tee with bigger action, bigger stars and more elaborate script but the main three characters (played by Matt Damon, George Clooney and Brad Pitt) seem to relax and have fun with their roles. Again, my only complaint was that the cast is so large that we don’t get to see a lot of the interaction between them all. I really loved the chemistry between Virgil and Turk Malloy (Casey Affleck and Scott Caan respectively) in the original, but they’re nearly passed over in this installment. I will say that Julia Roberts did have a more prominent role in this one and thus, brought the movie down a few notches. There’s an interesting little sub-plot with her and I won’t give away what it is – let’s just say that it’s a little too clever for its own good. Overall, Ocean’s Twelve did what it was supposed to – make money – but the first one is still far more entertaining and a more enjoyable film.
Video: How does it look?
Stephen Soderbergh is a bit of a film geek and I’m sure he was relishing the opportunity to shoot in Europe. His wish was granted. There are several different visual styles at play here, with the scenes in Rome being the most memorable. Certainly there are some Fellini-esque shots complete with graded picture and the like. That said, the overall look and feel of the film is a bit on the monotonous side. That’s not a fault of the transfer, of course, rather the way it was shot. The 2.39:1 HEVC 4K image brings all the caveats we’d expect with improved detail, improvement in grain and a deeper, richer colors. It’s not perfect, by any means, but it’s close and viewers should be amply satisfied.
Audio: How does it sound?
A DTS HD Master Audio track doesn’t really perform on all cylinders. At times it’s very rich and robust and at others I almost felt that I needed to turn the volume up. Surrounds are used very sparingly as most of the action takes place in the front stage. Dialogue is warm and natural and the soundtrack booms evenly over all 5.1 channels. While this wasn’t meant to blow the roof off the place, it has moments – but again I found it a bit lacking.
Supplements: What are the extras?
There’s nothing new with the supplements, but what’s included more than gets the job done.
- Audio Commentary – Director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter George Nolfi return with a commentary track on the second film. We get some of the origins, even some description of the Warner logo and shooting in Europe. It’s a good track.
- Ready, Jet Set, Go: The Making of Ocean’s Twelve – We see all the same familiar faces and a new one: Catherine Zeta-Jones, as they speak about the opportunity to work in the film, with the others and working on a sequel.
- HBO First Look: Twelve is the New Eleven – Oddly, the HBO: First Look featurette was left off the first film, but we’ve got it here. It’s of little consequence, though as it follows the formula of having talking heads, they’re back for the sequel, etc.
- Deleted Scenes – Eighteen, count ’em, eighteen deleted scenes totaling nearly 30 minutes are included in less than stellar quality.
The Bottom Line
Ocean’s Eleven set the bar so high that it would have taken a miracle to eclipse it. But don’t let that deter you – Ocean’s Twelve is still enjoyable. It’s more character-focused as opposed to focusing on the actual crime. It’s a different beast, for sure but I forgot how much fun I had watching it. Warner’s disc ups the ante with an improved picture.
