RUTHERFORD ON FILM
'Ocean's Thirteen': An Enjoyable 'Mission Impossible' Hacking Delight
By Tony RutherfordHuntington News Network Critic
Regaining its complexity and rekindling empathy for the caper team, “Ocean’s Thirteen” has a just right ingredients that blend “Mission Impossible” and “James Bond” gadgetry and planning with “Soprano” type hero/villains.
The production reflects the lengthy “Mission Impossible” detailed prologues that pose the hurdles to the mission ($500 million heist) and lay out the plan to transfer the wealth. Fortunately, the story’s benchmark stands on a middle-aged Willy Banks (Al Pacino) forcing the elderly Reuben (Elliott Gould ) out of his legitimately owned property in one of those Godfatherly "offers you cannot refuse." This allows an aura of Vegas-styled business justice for the elaborate scenario to make Reuben whole at Banks' expense.
Grey hair shining Danny Ocean (George Clooney) maps out the intricately choreographed caper with the smoothness and confidence of Mr. Phelps (Peter Graves) on the “M:I” television series. As the challenges increase, the team reassembles for accented intellectual daring do, rather than explosively riveting visuals.
One line particularly stands out for me : “You are an analog player in a digital world.” Why? “Thirteen” peers into the tick-tock odds controlling aspects of Vegas high and low roll wagering. Peeling the glitz and glamour, the cutthroat, take- no- prisoner business side of the casino capital flagrantly unfurls whether through tricks to beat a lie detector or “models who serve” designations that allow women to be canned for gaining weight.
Exploiting Mr. Banks' (Al Pacino) obsession with five diamond awards and the strengths and weaknesses of his robust ego, Clooney and partners infiltrate his operation whether by flirtation, manipulating competition, and through the really hokey manufactured tremblers, which creates panic reminiscent of “Earthquake” or “The Towering Inferno.”
For that matter, the architectural suave casino tower resembles one of those advent garde Freedom Tower designs (and how do patrons sleep on those narrow looking upper floors of the hotel?) which impresses but the heliport rooftop just magnifies the apparent visual limitations of the penthouse floors where other action has taken place.
Disregard my nit picking on minute set décor and focus on the premise of breaking the bank amid a tidal wave of carefully rigged events that zap the casino’s security and controls.
Smooth and crafty, the “Ocean’s Thirteen” ploys have little chance of occurring in real life, but they are exciting to watch, particularly when the control freak Banks' house of cards begin crumbling.
I’m game for Fourteen as long as the team sticks with more deliberately convoluted precision hackings and strong characters whose own internal flaw slickly unravel their billionaire lifestyle.
*** out of ****