The boys are back in Vegas as George Clooney's Danny Ocean and pals return to the city in the sand for the third instalment of their cash-registering remake. The star power alone is likely to turn this into a massive hit as Messrs Clooney, Pitt and Damon are joined by Al Pacino, whose casino-owner Willie Bank doublecrosses Ocean favourite Reuben Tishkoff and forces him to have a heart attack before the opening credits have even begun.
Determined to avenge their friend's misfortune, Ocean and co decide to scupper the opening night of Bank's new mega-casino and go for their biggest payday yet. With Ocean and Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) calling the shots, the team includes Matt Damon as a butler-in-disguise whose job is to seduce Bank's officious general manager Ellen Barkin, Don Cheadle as Dick Van Dyke soundalike and underground break-in expert Basher Tarr and Andy Garcia as the extremely rich Terry Benedict, this time returning to meet his old foes on his own terms.
As is common in heist movies, a lot of the action is intentionally very confusing for the audience. With a soundtrack that frequently overlaps, a multitude of characters each doing their own quite complex thing, and an attempt by director Steven Soderbergh to make us feel like we are eavesdropping on a big plan without knowing all of the details, it's probably best to sit back and enjoy the show without wondering too much about where the plot might be heading.
Clooney and Pitt fans will undoubtedly enjoy the repartee between the two, especially in their interlude night-time walks when they compare the Vegas of old to the city today. Matt Damon provides another highlight, reminding us of his comedic talent and threatening to steal the show all on his own, while Pacino nicely judges his role as the megalomaniac tycoon.
Smooth pacing and dazzling camerawork may not ultimately be enough to prevent audiences wondering about rather simple plot-related questions such as how they actually manage to get the machine that bored the Channel Tunnel underneath Las Vegas without anyone noticing, but quibbles as big as this are unlikely to stop the film hitting the jackpot all over the world.
Paul Hurley
