Ocean's Eleven (DVD 2002)

Safe Crackers, 8 April 2005
Reviewer: "aceadrian" - See all my reviews
Its got to be said that this film is going to annoy some people due to its position as a remake of what might be considered a great film by some viewers. But the main point is, it does a good job, even if its a slightly different type of film.
The story is built around the premise that the recently released major gambling thief Daniel Ocean is building a team of 11 crack thieves all with specialist skills to pull off the greatest ever Casino robbery. The ultimate robbery that has never been conceived before. Oddly enough he builds his team, some of whom appear to be misfits and begins to plan the job.

The good thing about the story is that, unlike some others, they don't actually let you in on the whole plan, you don't know quite how the job is going to come off. Now building the details of plans forms the basis of other films, so in this one they had to fill the story with other titbits to keep you off the scent. These include the love of Oceans life and his plan to woo her back, various mishaps along the way that threaten the job and buckets of humour. Ok, its not a comedy, but when you compare it to films of its type it has more than its fair share of laughs.

One of the striking features is the way the actors work from each other, it appears obvious they enjoyed themselves and it shines through. The quick punchy nature of the dialogue, the timing and the body language are beyond these actors to mimic if it had not been enjoyable.

Its a great film not to have to concentrate on too much, you can pick up at various points and not miss too much, its also one that can be watched more than once without losing too much appeal, I think you might pick up on new gags on the second viewing for instance.