ocean

THE FLICK: It’s a minor Hollywood miracle that the Ocean’s remakes even exist at all. The cumulative salaries of the stars involved would stretch around the world six times if they hadn’t deferred a good chunk of change to work together under the guidance of director Steven Soderbergh. The appeal to the trilogy is that “backstage pass” vibe you get by watching “A-list” celebrities goof off for a couple of hours. Of course, Ocean’s 12 took things too far, stretching out poorly improvised dialogue that probably seemed funny on the set but came off as arrogantly self-serving on the screen. And the whole Julia Roberts playing Julia Roberts meeting Bruce Willlis thing? Save it for the after-party, people. Luckily, things are back on track for part three. After a cocky casino owner (Al Pacino) gives one of the gang a raw deal, Danny Ocean (George Clooney) gets the band back together for a one-time-only revenge heist with the intent of breaking the auspicious new Bank casino on opening night. The scheme is a bit more ludicrous this time, involving Mexican teamsters and an actual chunnel drilled under the Vegas strip, but when the chips begin to fall in the final 45-minutes you won’t find a more exhilarating night of entertainment for your Netflix dollar. Oddly, Clooney and Pitt are featured far less in this film than any other, and their respective love-interests are nowhere to be found. But Matt Damon rises to the occasion with a bit more screen time, even sporting a fake nose and greasy European look to seduce Ellen Barkin, who plays the casino’s second-in-command. Pacino is the film’s focus, although he never really makes the character memorable. It’s the side stories that get most of the laughs and keep the film’s complicated plot chugging along with a nearly a billion dollars riding on one 3 1⁄2 minute window of opportunity. The set-up may seem like a lot of work, but the cinematic payoff is golden. THE FEATURES: This is another case where you’re rewarded for going Hi-Def. Warner has included an exclusive commentary by Soderbergh and the screenwriters along with the 45-minute featurette Masters of the Heist which profiles four real-life con artists throughout history. The commentary is a bit chummy, but the featurette is very well done. Extras on both hi-def and standard include some sparse deleted scenes, Vegas: An Opulent Illusion and a brief tour of the detailed casino set used in the film.