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DVD REVIEW
Ocean's
11 Starring:
George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Bernie
Mac, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Rating: PG-13
Review
Posted: 5.9.02
Reviewed by
John Teves
In
Ocean's Eleven, Danny Ocean (GEORGE CLOONEY) is paroled from prison
and immediately begins orchestrating his latest plan - to pull
off the most daring heist in the history of Las Vegas. The
target? Three of the most popular casinos on the Vegas Strip:
The Bellagio, the Mirage and the MGM Grand.
"I
apologize for Batman & Robin. Can we continue?"
With
the help of his trusted cohort, Rusty Ryan (BRAD PITT),they put
together the top nine picks for the job; Linus Caldwell (MATT
DAMON), whose nimble fingers can pick any pocket; Basher Tarr
(DON CHEADLE) the Cockney munitions expert; Reuben Tishkoff
(ELLIOTT GOULD), who was muscled out of his hotel by the new
king of Las Vegas and now sees a way to even the score; the
Malloy brothers, Virgil (CASEY AFFLECK) and Turk (SCOTT CAAN),
expert auto mechanics and drivers; Frank Catton (BERNIE MAC),
professional card dealer and observer; Saul Bloom (Carl Reiner),
who thought he was retired from the con business; Livingston
Dell (EDDIE JEMISON), the eyes and ears of the team, whose work
on both sides of the law has made him a surveillance expert
capable of tapping into the most sophisticated security system;
and Yen (SHAOBO QIN), a Chinese acrobat whose unique talents
make him the perfect grease man.
As
the story unfolds it’s obvious why Danny has picked these
particular places. The casinos are owned by Terry Benedict (Andy
Garcia), the new boyfriend of Danny's ex-wife, Tess (Julia
Roberts), and it's the only way Danny knows how to win back his
true love.
Ocean's
Eleven
goes for the less serious take. It’s a slick heist story that
lacks character. This movie is a re-interpretation of the
original, and should be judged by its own standards. There are a
few twist however, but nothing really memorable. The real
pleasure in Ocean's Eleven
is in seeing so many stars all together in the one film. Fans of
Clooney, Pitt, Damon, Garcia or Roberts will find there's enough
to like here. Keep in mind however, that all of the characters
(except for Clooney) don't get extensive screen time. Still, the
cast seemed to be having some fun with making the film.
Director
Steven Soderbergh allows his cast to include in their
performances bits of their own personalities with great success.
Soderbergh skillfully masters the art of making the impossible
casino robbery look easy and gives the action a boost by
revealing the details of the plan only as it unfolds right in
front of us. This film may not tackle the serious subject matter
of Soderbergh's Traffic
and or Erin Brockovich, but it's a solid tribute to the classic Rat Pack
movies.
Rejected
'Usual Suspects' line up.
I’m
going to be honest with you, the tempo of this film was way too
slow for me. The only good thing I can say about the cast in
this film was that Julia Robert's character wasn’t developed
at all (Thank God!), as a matter of fact, many of the characters
weren’t. This film is definitely a beef cake movie, guys take
my advice, rent it and use the movie as an excuse to fall asleep
while the females watch the movie.
Ocean’s
Eleven
appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this
single-sided, double-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced
for 16X9 televisions. The DVD transfer for Ocean’s
Eleven is very faithful to the theatrical version of the
film, If you’re familiar with any of Soderbergh’s work, you
know that he tends to use his own stylistic visual presentation.
Although Ocean’s Eleven
still has that distinctive Soderbergh look to it, it’s toned
down here. While not as excessive as Traffic,
this film more closely resembles such films as Out of Sight and Erin
Brokovich, for visual appearance sake.
The
picture usually provided a solid viewing experience, a gorgeous
looking DVD. The image is consistently sharp and wonderfully
defined throughout the course of the film. There were virtually
no signs of softness or fuzziness. No jagged edges, but I did
see a shimmer during a couple of scenes, minor but noticeable.
No examples of edge enhancement. Some light grain appeared, but
otherwise the picture was good. Tones remained clear and tight
throughout the movie. Black levels looked deep and rich,
contrast appeared very solid. Warner once again puts out another
top-notch title. This was a very pleasing visual experience.
"Damn!
We're in a tight spot!"
Warner
Brothers presents Ocean’s
Eleven in Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. The mix does an excellent
job of presenting the material at hand, but there’s not enough
there to make Ocean’s
Eleven a demo piece to show off your system to your friends.
The
music offered solid stereo imaging, and effects seemed natural
and well defined. Sound spread cleanly across the forward
channels. It showed good blending. Surround usage seemed limited
though. The rear speakers reinforced the film’s music and they
also occasionally offered decent effects. Although the sound was
fairly passive much of the time, there were, however, scenes
that came to life for the most part.
At
times I noticed the dialogue displayed some edginess. The bass
response appeared somewhat limited. The music score sounded
decent, but it could have been deeper and richer. Overall, the
film presents a good quality mix that is adequate for this
particular film. There’s nothing astounding or spectacular to
be found here, but the majority of the film remains in the
forward spectrum with very nice separation, it’s all mingled
together perfectly, with nice balance throughout.
•
Audio commentary With Director Steven Soderbergh and Writer Ted
Griffin
•
Audio Commentary With Actors Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Andy
Garcia
•
HBO's First Look: The Making of "Ocean's Eleven" (documentary)
•
The Look of the Con (documentary)
•
Theatrical Trailers
•
Cast and Crew
•
DVD-ROM Features
"Batman & Robin...
terrible!" - "I Love Trouble... you nuts?"
The
two audio commentaries
are fun. The first is with Soderbergh and Ted Griffin -
Soderbergh is very entertaining and talks about the film and
some interesting tidbits here and there, but nothing really
exciting. The second commentary features Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt
and Matt Damon - some really interesting stories from the
filming of Ocean’s Eleven, along with praise for their co-stars and others
involved with the film. Damon and Garcia offered their fair
share of jokes and presented some great tales of their own from
the set. We get a load of inside information from the three
stars and it sounds like they had a great time. Overall, fun stories from the set – worth the time
to check out.
HBO
First Look: The Making of Ocean's Eleven:
Interviews with the stars and director and some background
information on the movie.
The
Look of the Con:
this segment concentrates on the different outfits and
"costumes" of the different members of the cast.
Cast
and Crew bios
DVD-ROM
links you to the original website and an interactive game
"In or Out".
Overall
the story, is fun to watch. It's not a brilliant film, but there
is enough star exposure to entertain. Ocean's
Eleven is just a slick, underachieving movie that lacks the
soul of the original and the inspiration of a true retelling.
"I'm
going to make you an offer you can't refuse."
This
movie has the cast, it has the concept, it has the location, and
it has the budget, but it doesn't have the crisp pacing that
should spur the material along. I must say on the other hand
that it does take the material of the heist genre and spices it
up.
Should
you rent it or buy it? Well, Ocean's
Eleven is not going to break any new ground, but like a good
round at the Blackjack table, it's just good fun. I just
wouldn’t bet the house on it – not worthy of my DVD
collection, but worth a rental. Warner has certainly done a fine
job with this disc, so no matter which choice you make, you'll
walk out a winner.
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