Fun retrospective7/30/2023 ![]() Where Ocean’s Eleven derives much of its greatness from the excitement of the heist, Ocean’s Twelve revels in the glory of hanging out. These criticisms are, surprisingly enough, pretty much true across the board, yet this film does not operate on the same logic as its predecessor, and the ridiculous plot elements only make it better. ![]() Much of the film’s criticisms emerge from claims that many (if not most) of the plot elements are completely unrealistic, ridiculous in nature, or nonsensical in logic. What is described above is an accurate spoiler-free synopsis of what the film is “about”, but in the end it really means nothing. The most important thing to realize about this film in order to truly appreciate it, however, is to realize that the basic plot structure does not matter. Along the way, they are met by another master thief known as the “Night Fox” who wishes to prove that he is the superior mastermind and thus challenges them to a contest to see who can steal the Imperial Coronation Fabergé Egg first. Unable to come up with the cash, the crew is forced to go abroad to Europe and find a way to pull off a series of heists before Benedict comes after them. Unfortunately for them, Terry Benedict, the devilish owner of all three casinos, has tracked them all down, and is demanding to be repaid in full plus interest for the money that was stolen. Ocean’s Twelve picks up 3 years after the glorious centerpiece heist of Eleven, where the gang pulled off heists of 3 Vegas casinos in one night and got away with $160 million between the group. Perhaps the most critically maligned of all the films of the entire franchise - even being named one of the 25 worst sequels ever made by Entertainment Weekly - its base of loyal followers who understand the true greatness of the film has been growing steadily since its release in 2004, even if the grander consensus remains firmly in the negative column. Instead, that honor goes to the film’s immediate sequel: Ocean’s Twelve. In fact, one might even argue that the beloved franchise did not even peak at its origin. ![]() Does this mean that - as seems to happen so often in Hollywood - after the raging success of Eleven, it all went downhill from there?ĭespite what many critics might tell you, the answer is emphatically no. The film spawned two sequels in Ocean’s Twelve and Ocean’s Thirteen in the ensuing years, as well as an all-female reboot with Ocean’s Eight, none of which reached the same levels of critical acclaim or box office gross. To go along with this, although his contribution can often be overlooked, director Steven Soderbergh’s unbelievable fluency with the language of cinema allows him to play it fast and loose with the rules of narrative and camera movement, allowing him to craft an entirely unique take on the genre that has not been replicated outside of his own franchise since. Held together by one of the most astoundingly talented ensemble casts in all of modern cinema, the chemistry and wit of the famous Eleven launches the film toward stratospheric levels of fun, paired with an extremely clever and engaging heist narrative. ![]() It stands tall to this day, almost two decades after its initial release, as one of the great heist movies in the history of cinema, and is essentially universally regarded as such. Everyone and their mother loves Ocean’s Eleven. ![]()
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