This is exponentially better than TWELVE and on-par with ELEVEN. Elliott Gould is royally screwed over and sent to the hospital, so George Clooney and the Gang get back together for a caper against egotistical Al Pacino's land-grabbing casino owner. The difference here is that unlike in TWELVE, everyone has something to do and a purpose for being in the film together.
It's set in Vegas again, which is a great setting when a film can do the ol' town justice. While it was a departure from ELEVEN before it, OCEAN'S TWELVE removed the team from America and took on an entirely different agenda, becoming too mixed-up and convoluted (the guys themselves even questioned why Danny Ocean was the self-appointed leader). The excess characters have been jettisoned ("it's not their fight") while the colorful ones of the past (like Eddie Izzard and Andy Garcia) have been included and officially make up "numbers twelve and thirteen" from what I can tell. New faces include David Paymer as "The V.U.P." in a terrific comic relief role, Ellen Barkin (who's never been hotter) and Pacino playing notes never seen the way he slimily does here.
Steven Soderbergh continues to direct interesting films, big and small. His cinematography here makes you want to touch the lights. I would also be remiss by not mentioning the too-cool-for-school musical score by David Holmes. Excellent as always.
OCEAN'S THIRTEEN takes it all back where it started and rightfully so. I felt let down by TWELVE and regrettably let THIRTEEN slip past last summer on the big screen (though I did go to the outside of the Chicago premiere and see Clooney, Damon, and the late Bernie Mac, in person). It's a fun film with a throwback feel that easily lives up to the Sinatra-style era of the past. Definitely roll the dice and give it a chance.
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