Ocean's Twelve (2004) review - Movie Thoughts (Chapter 8) 💰

Hello everyone,

Today's post is actually one of the films that inspired this film in the first place. The Ocean's trilogy was one of those older franchises that was missing from my viewing resume, and lockdown gave me a chance to catch-up on some of those along with some other wacky and weird choices. I'm not super happy with the review, but then again that's probably fitting - I wasn't super stoked with the film either....

(**disclaimer: the following thoughts are 100% my opinion, you do not have to agree with them - film is inherently subjective and everyone's perspective is valid! Also, there are probably spoilers in the following, read at your own risk. Now onto some thoughts....**)

Source: IMDB

There’s no denying that Ocean’s 11 (2001) is a tough act to follow. But Steven Soderbergh stepped up to the plate with a lukewarm sequel that unfortunately missed the mark in several areas. It’s predecessor gained its charm from how focused and compact the narrative structure was. One flawed villain, one heist, and every little piece of the puzzle worked perfectly in the pay-off, with the crew disappearing into the Vegas night after a job well done. But with a premise resting on big bad Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) rounding up the 11 crew and demanding they pay him back with interest in just 2 weeks, there’s an overwhelming sense that they didn’t get away with anything after all.

A messy and convoluted plot that follows Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and the gang on three different heists around the picturesque sights of Europe doesn’t allow audiences to experience the precision and focus of narrowing in on a single job. Meticulous planning, gadgetry aplenty and little throwaway operations that ultimately contribute to the centrepiece con gave 11 it’s slick and sophisticated tone. 12 throws that out in favour of more survival instinct-style tricks that consistently display a lack of self-confidence in the abilities of these beloved criminals. It’s an Oceans film, so you presume they are always 3 steps ahead, but it ended up being baggy and largely disengaging.

Soderbergh also includes a foray into satire in an attempt to add another intellectual layer to the heist franchise. But the somewhat ‘self-aware’ moments tended to fall flat as genius winks to an audience who is supposed to get the hilarity of heist film tropes. Try-hard Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon) asking Rusty (Brad Pitt) for a bigger role was predictable given his undying itch to prove himself. Although Damon did clock more screen time than the previous Ocean’s, but it was time spent on the back foot or wearing out his shoes pacing. Perhaps most disappointingly, the Tess (Julia Roberts) gag that saw her impersonating Julia Roberts herself was dumb and drawn out for too long, with a cameo from Bruce Willis only enhanced the awkwardness. Within the mess, there were few moments of genuine hilarity like Francois Toulour (Vincent Cassel)’s laser gymnastics sequence dressed in all-black and choreographed to orchestral hip-hop.

With the focus moving between heists and the tenacious investigative skills of Detective Isabel Lahiri (Catherine Zeta-Jones), there’s a distinct lack of clarity on what audiences are supposed to care about. Adding unnecessary clutter, despite the individual appeal of each caveat on its own, was overall more frustrating than enticing. Exploring heist mythology and spending time on a showdown of ‘who can heist better’ with Toulour was a good idea on paper, but wasn’t executed in a way that made sense or carried enough emotional tension onscreen. Adding a smart European detective was also conceptually curious, yet her character ends up being largely bland and monotone. The chemistry between Zeta-Jones and Pitt wasn’t compelling enough to affirm the appeal of their romantic arc either. Although the last sections are heavily laced with the implication that the crew will triumph, the breakdancing criminal will have his ego ceremoniously deflated, and Benedict will have his money, the constant deadline countdown onscreen and heist scrambling that litters much of the plot leaves a very two-tone characterisation of the film.

Within the conceptual misgivings of the plot, the banter between the well-known group members is also low; both in quality and quantity. Each of their unique personalities are dialled down, and they are separated more than ever before. There’s only so many times you can hear master criminals say ‘we’re screwed’ before it becomes boring. Exploring the crew’s extensive heist knowledge through the exchange of listing manoeuvres and other little tidbits was an interesting development in proving the crew’s credentials and reinforcing just how good they are at what they do, but this just isn’t reinforced enough in the way each of the different European heists plays out.

Even Clooney’s Ocean loses a degree of suave charm and seemed to be way off his game this time around, and doesn’t really seem to do much outside of getting arrested again. He eventually gets their middle finger moment and the scenic ending on a European balcony, but there is an unspoken argument for not quite earning it given how many hoops they had to jump through to get there.

Another in the long line of mismanaged sequels, the pieces that made up Ocean’s 12 didn’t mesh well together and created plenty of headaches without the expected polish and refinement of its precursor. There are too many ideas going on, and not enough time is spent on the good ones to bring the tone above mediocre.

7/10, 3 STARS