I saw Ocean's Eleven, reluctantly, and fell in love. It opened the door for me to be able to tolerate George Clooney and Brad Pitt (although 12 Monkeys and Fight Club continue to be his best work). That being said, Twelve was NOT Eleven.This does not make it bad, just different. The difference though being a rather large one. Instead of one tremendously clever caper, we have three blase ones with alot of down time in between. And herein is where I think alot of people torched this film. They wanted to see the exact same genius of the first script and instead got Ocean and crew palling around Europe. This film is by no means a mind buster, but it IS an enjoyable film with some rather entertaining times and the same type of story one would expect the writers to come up with for this crew.
All in all, not the best one out of the group, but I challenge anyone who bashed this film for not being as good as the first one to give me a series of films that consistently IMPROVED upon itself. There have been A LOT of letdown sequels out there, I would not go so far as saying this one was a letdown. Eleven was 5 stars........this one is four, for simply being a fun film as long as you can sit back and not start making Ocean's Eleven comparisons. Sure it bears the namesake, but it is NOT the same film. And honestly, it does a great job showing just how clever Terry Benedict can be as the villain. One of Andy Garcia's best roles, albeit short lived.
I got to apologize for reviewing the film itself instead of the product, but I honestly felt this was being unfairly represented by alot of the reviews. Hope this helps give some counterpoint. And FYI, the disk is great I simply wish it had a little more meat. Not alot in the way of extras
A) THE DISJOINTED PLOT (or making an unnecessary sequel). Right, we don't need this. We already have slick, stylish 'Ocean's Eleven' so why make this one? Add to this question, what's the point of this new '12' anyway? George Clooney and other guys came back. Right, and Andy Garcia's (last time) humiliated casino owner came back, who wants his money back. So Ocean and his pals have to pull off another heist in Holland, in order to pay the cash quickly. So far, OK.
BUT. hey, anyone, can you summerize this? The film next introduces another (French) crook Vincent Cassel, and another retired crook, and Catherine Zata Jones's female investigator (from 'Europole', and she happens to know Brad Pitt's character ... how convenient), and many cameos from Hollywood, including Bruce Willis as himself. And Julia Roberts flies to the place when Ocean's men are in trouble, all the way from America. To prove what? I still do not know.
B) EUROPEAN LOCATIONS. And they went out of USA, to travel to such places as Rome and Amsterdam. That means there is no gorgeous, glittering feeling of Las Vegas, the town which no doubt helped create the stylish mood of the original. But anyway, the entire cast must have had fun.
C) SO MANY CAMEOS and references to other films. If you don't have good idea, get cameos. It's easy, you pay just a little (by the standard of Hollywood), the stars work only a day or two, and the audiences will be amused. That's what some people are thinking. So, besides the star of 'Pulp Fiction' you see Eddie Izzard, Robbie Coltrane, Jared Harris, Albert Finney, Jeroen Krabbe, Topher Grace ... should I continue? Plus, there are many film references, none of which are as amusing or intelligent as Tarantino.
Am I too harsh? Maybe or maybe not. But I am sure that what was good in '11' is all missing in '12.' Maybe you still call it a 'dream team' with Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac. But they forgot one thing, and that's imagination. Perhap, just perhap, but Steven Soderbergh lost it, and something else got into his head instead.
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It pains me to see people put down such a well done film. I can't understand why people are so caught up in being so overly-critical about everything these days. Wah wah wah, this sucks, wah wah wah, horrible movie, wah wah wah...boo hoo. First off, this movie is great. Regardless of what movie you think they've tried to rip off, regardless of the fact you think the first was better, i don't care and I think you should broaden your small minded thinking.This movie is very intelligent, the acting in it is unrivaled. The cast couldn't have been better put together and everyone plays their role so well in this movie. I particularly thought that Matt Damon was excellent. And of course, there's the one and only Brad Pitt who was exquisite as usual. Anywho, you can't go wrong with this star-studded cast.
This movie had me entertained one more than one level. It made me laugh, cry, scratch my head, think, and it put all the pieces together for me in the end so I didn't leave the theater throwing barrels. I thought the off-key humor in it was brilliant. The way it all came together in the end was just they way we all like to see it done.
This movie is a great movie. Great acting, smart, funny, great story, keeps you thinking. It's everything and more in what I look for in a good film. If you haven't seen it, listen to my review, see it, and decide for yourself, ignore all these cynical over-analytical critical "let's compare everything to something else and say it is bad because...blah blah blah" type people.
Thank you for your time.
Read Best Reviews of Ocean's Twelve (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle) (2004) Here
"Ocean's 12" is nearly as much fun as Steven Soderbergh's 2002 film "Ocean's 11". This is, of course the sequel to "Ocean's 11". The main problem with this movie is that it goes on a bit too long. Clockin in at 135 minutes, there are too many things going on and the last act is completely confounding. In a way, this movie reminded me of the recent "Ladykillers" remake, in that it has comically inept criminals doing things that they rally can not do. But "Ocean's 12" is less of a caper comedy like its predesecsor was, and more of an action caper. There are no amazing shootouts or daring car chases/races/or crashes, but there is a large amount of heists, some that are involved in mechanics or outrageous stunts. So, that said, I think that "Ocean's 12", while funny and quite entertaining, could have been shortened by 15 or 20 minutes. I thought that Catherine Zeta Jones' character was not that well established, and the writers (perhaps purposefully) left it to the audience to figure out why she was even there!Want Ocean's Twelve (Blu-ray/DVD Bundle) (2004) Discount?
Ocean's 12 is truly a great sequal. Those who did not like this film are only casual fans of Ocean's 11 and of cinema in general. I can understand they may have trouble with this film because their lack of film knowledge and their attention to the original may be lacking. This was so intelligent and funny, and the continuity of Ocean's 11 is carried through so well (things refered to in the first film are brought to fruition in this sequal...Linus's parents, Rule #1, etc...) There are so many inside jokes and references for film lovers as well (esp. the Miller's Crossing discussion and a certian actor revealed at the end, and the Bruce Willis/Hudson Hawk connection, plus others). Sure sometimes one has to suspend disbelief, but hell, this is a fictional movie, not a biopic! Also the style and music of the film is that of a great european 60's 70's heist flick (to fit in with the theme). I also love that each character has an idiosynchrasy of thier own (most carried over from the last film, some comedic cliches). The idea of a rival thief is also quite novel, funny, and adds a good twist. It is sad that people see this as a poor sequal, obviously they just do not pay attention to the little details, those things that make films truly great. If you really allow yourself to think of all the meta-references and continuities, then you may actually see how rich this film really is! Please, watch it again...Save 40% Off
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