Review: Ocean's Thirteen Finally Perfects The Formula
- Jun 6, 2018
- 2 min read
After Ocean's Eleven failed to entertain during the first act, and Ocean's Twelve fell apart at the end, Ocean's Thirteen finally delivers the complete package, and it's the best one yet. This concentrated, definitive Ocean's
experience has learned from past mistakes and perfected the formula.
After Reuben (Elliott Gould) is forced to relinquish his stake in The Bank, a technologically-advanced new hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, he has a heart attack which motivates Danny Ocean (George Clooney) to assemble his men for a revenge plan. Their plan is to prevent owner Willy Bank (Al Pacino) from winning the prestigious Five Diamond Award he's already won four times, and also to rig the casino's games to pay out enough millions on opening night that he loses The Bank to the gambling board. The problem is, the state-of-the-art AI system, the Greco Player Tracker, is watching every move, heartbeat, and biometric in the casino to detect cheating. And when their plan to disrupt the system fails, they need to call in the help of their old enemy Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia).
The best thing about this movie's plot, is that that's basically all there is to it. It's astonishingly simple for a heist movie, and they don't overcomplicate things by hinging the entire movie on the plot twists like in Eleven and Twelve. Rather, the twists work in with the existing plan, rather than being an entirely new plan on top of the old one. They're also highly entertaining - one such twist imitates my least favourite moment from Ocean's Twelve, but it's played for laughs and as a result, is far less aggravating and more endearing. It does create a slight plot hole, but that can be easily overlooked as part of the plan that just didn't get explained.
The cinematography (which I've barely even mentioned in other reviews, because I had bigger issues with them) is still strangely coloured at times, but more upbeat this time. But the sets are far more exquisite than usual. Garcia and Clooney shine once again, and Al Pacino was so good as Willy Bank that I forgot it was Al Pacino.
There's really not much more to be said about this movie. It feels more like what Ocean's Eleven was going for, than Ocean's Eleven itself. It wastes no time in setting up the villain and planning the heist, and remains equally as entertaining all the way through. I have nothing but praise for Ocean's Thirteen after a flawed first two entries.
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