***
As Don Cheadle's character, Basher, says in the film, "You don't run the same gag twice. You run the next one." They certainly did...but not as spectacularly as they did in Ocean's Eleven. Expected to be a throwback to said film, it was indeed a walk down memory lane--one that treaded the path of old school Vegas and its traditions. The plot was in fact about Rueben (Elliot Gould) and how Bank (Al Pacino) double crossed him in a deal--destroying his plan to be big in Vegas again and not just some washed up old fogy with "analog tricks in a digital world." As per the code of thieves, the Ocean's crew felt compelled to seek revenge for him, kind of like how Michael had to do for his father in The Godfather: Part II.
As usual the con they must pull off was intricate and segmented enough so each person in the team had their part. But they faltered when they kept adding outsiders/nobodies to help out. You could say it's thief comradery, but it seemed more like they couldn't find actors who would be well-known enough, without stealing the spotlight, to do the job. This job, however, was a whole lot less subtle then their other jobs. Essentially, they destroyed any chance of Bank's casino succeeding by making everyone in it win. And when they needed capital from Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) and were told to steal diamonds from Bank in return, they ripped the case out of the roof and flew away with it. They not only wanted to humiliate him, they wanted to be really obvious about it. The constant focus of the code of honor among men who shook Sinatra's hand was the main theme of the film--one that may be lost on those who did not revel in the greatness that was Franky boy.
What each character brought individually to the screen:
Danny (George Clooney) is still the reserved, honor-driven Amos to Rusty's (Brad Pitt) gluttonous, self-assured Andy.
Meanwhile, Linus (Matt Damon), their proverbial baby bro, went through "puberty"-- discovering the touch of a woman (Ellen Barkin) and seeking approval from not only his big brothers, but from his father. One scene of the film echoes Twelve in that Linus' father arrives to "bail" him out of a jam--simultaneously perpetuating the teenage references as he interrupts him and his horny girlfriend pre-coitus. Only in this one, his father figuratively castrates him when he rips off his fake nose, trying to prove once and for all that the gag he chose was a dud.
Livingston (Eddie Jemison) was his usual glandular-challenged, bumbling self.
Frank (Bernie Mac) had more screen action this time around, playing his signature suave and debonair, sweet talker self.
Saul (Carl Reiner) projects yet another accent he can fake. The fact that he is much older than Reuben and should've had maybe one or two scenes commiserating with him, is overridden by the fact that no matter how
wrinkled his face gets, he's still childish at heart--seen gloating playfully at Bank's expense in the end.
Basher (Don Cheadle) voiced his usual slang-filled poetry that ultimately inspires one of the crew to get back into the game full swing.
Yen (Shaobo Qin) was obviously affected by the millions of dollars that have rained down on him from the previous films, since he's shown tanned to perfection and rocking a choppy skater haircut. He gets more lines in this installment, but as usual only the boys can understand him.
Speaking of a language barrier, Virgil (Casey Affleck) and Turk (Scott Caan) surpass their usual sibling-rivalry-fueled shenanigans with a trip to Mexico where they literally spend half their lines speaking in Spanish about a revolution for higher wages they--however nobly--look ridiculously funny fighting. Even though Linus is the "baby" of the crew, they are most certainly the mischievous teenagers--A.D.D.-challenged and all.
If you look at the poster above, you'll notice that there are twelve people in the image, which would suggest not only that Terry is the 12th Ocean crew member, but leaves to question who the 13th is. My assumption is that it's Roman (Eddie Izzard), who is usually the computer counterpart to Livingston. He's been in all three films. He's always helped. Yet, he never gets credit as being apart of the crew.
As for the additional cast, they were just a tad disappointing. Pacino's character would've been more effective if he were some young hot shot trying to take over Reuben's city. That way Danny and the boys could teach him something about respecting men from Sinatra's time. Otherwise, it just seems like Pacino really needs to stop letting people make him play caricatures of Don Michael Corlione, with his threatening declarations and rigid speech rhythm. Barkin was oddly wrinkle free from neck to nipple, which distracted me because all I could think of as she writhed in ecstasy because of Linus's advances is whether or not her breasts were real. Other than advising that there be less closeups with her character, she did pretty well for a cougar. Garcia's character was whittled down to someone who was starting to enjoy Danny's cons, which took him out of his original infuriated demeanor--unless you take into account that all he wants is money and he'll do anything, even team up with his enemy, to get it. Francios (Vincent Cassel), the bad guy from the 2nd film, sort of functioned in the way the squirrel does in Ice Age. Every now and then the plot is interrupted by this squirrel who just can't get a hold of a coveted acorn. No matter how hard Francios tries, he just can't beat Ocean's crew. And if this were a series, I can assure you he'd show up in every episode completely flustered by his constant failures.
Overall, with the performance of the characters and the basic con, I preferred the boys when they were driven by sheer greed and challenge, rather than this--while understandable--unnecessary need to get revenge. Although you could say that the con in Ocean's Eleven was simply done to get Tess (Julia Roberts), love is a way more enticing plot driver than revenge.
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