This is a post on the Steven Soderbergh-directed Ocean’s Trilogy that consists of Ocean’s Eleven (2001) followed by its sequels Ocean’s Twelve (2004) and Ocean’s Thirteen (2007). All these three films are known and appreciated for their slick and cool style with fast-paced narration and enough entertainment with comedy to put those into the league of the finest heist films.
Nevertheless, since the release of Ocean’s Eleven, it was pretty much clear what director Soderbergh wanted to bring in with such a genre of films. The absence of gunplay and violence and the use of humor brought uniqueness to these films, which was indeed the remake of the 1960 film of the same name, starring Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack.
The other interesting part of Ocean’s Eleven franchise is certainly the star cast with some of the finest actors, including George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, Casey Affleck, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts, and even Catherine Zeta-Jones (in Ocean’s Twelve). However, Julia Roberts and Catherine did not return to the third installment of Ocean’s Thirteen.
Ocean’s Eleven starts with Danny Ocean (played by George Clooney) who teams up with his old pal Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) to rob a casino. In fact, they planned to rob 150 million dollars from an underground vault that serves three of Las Vegas’s biggest casinos. Together they employed nine other men, a bunch of thieves and con men, with exceptional criminal skills which they needed on their way to execute this complex job.
Primarily in Ocean’s Eleven, you see how Danny successfully robs casino owner Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia)’s money and in the second installment (Ocean’s Twelve) it’s the turn of Benedict to find Danny and his men and give them an ultimatum to return his money with interest.
As Danny and his group land in Europe to do some heists in order to pay casino owner Benedict, they find themselves in the middle of a thievery competition with a wealthy businessman Francois Toulour (Vincent Cassel), who considers himself the No. 1 in this job of the heist. He challenges Danny to steal the Faberge Imperial Coronation Egg and if Danny does so, Toulour will pay off the debt to Benedict.
Eventually, Danny did the job and returned the money to casino tycoon Benedict and promise not to do any more heists in his casinos. In Ocean’s Thirteen, Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin joined the ensemble cast as the con group started their next mission targeting these two.
The eleven plan to rig another casino owned by Willy Bank (Al Pacino) after Bank double-crosses one of Danny’s gang members, Reuben. Danny gathers his old pals and plans to ruin Bank on the very opening night of his hotel-casino.
Probably, Ocean’s Trilogy is Soderbergh’s most commercial film venture which is a perfect example of an entertaining, witty, and well-acted piece of comedy heist. For those who are expecting another film in the Ocean franchise, here is a piece of bad news both the director of the film and George Clooney have denied of coming up with another Ocean film.
Where to watch Ocean's Eleven (2001)
