'Ocean?s Eleven? makes the original look tame

"Ocean's Eleven"

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

Starring (alphabetically): George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and on and on...

Rated: PG-13

In 1960 legendary director Lewis Milestone, who had already made classics such as "All Quiet on The Western Front" and "The Front Page" in the early 1930s, was handed the star vehicle for Frank Sinatra and his "rat pack" pals, "Ocean's Eleven."

Despite the presence of the "chairman of the board" and Dean and Sammy and Peter and Angie et al., as well as the talents of Milestone, the film was fairly lightweight.

It appeared to be something Sinatra and his buddies were just larking about with because they could. Which is probably true.

Forty-one years later, another talented Hollywood director has decided, for reasons one can only guess are box-office related, to remake this star-studded puff piece and do so with stars of the caliber seen in the original.

Clooney, Damon, Garcia, Pitt and Roberts; these people are Hollywood royalty. There are spots for the old guard, as well, with Carl Reiner and Elliott Gould playing prominent roles. Even so, and even with Steven Soderbergh as director, this "Ocean's Eleven" is as disposable as its predecessor.

Soderbergh, over the past dozen years, has made some ground-breaking films "sex, lies and videotape," "The Limey" and "Out of Sight" were great movies. And in 2000, he was nominated for TWO Oscars as best director with "Erin Brockovich" and "Traffic." The latter, a cinematic marvel, won him the statue. For a relative newcomer, he's a force to be reckoned with.

In "Traffic," Soderbergh fully utilized a gritty, almost documentary, look. He also used a few other styles, as well, each one different and tailored to the stories being told. It was a brilliant decision. And now, Soderbergh, who not only directed but also served as cinematographer, employs that gritty style to great effect in "Ocean's Eleven."

That, to me, is the most interesting and enjoyable thing about the movie.

In the original, Frank Sinatra was Danny Ocean, and the gang he assembled consisted of fellow forgotten veterans home from the Korean War.

This time around, George Clooney is Ocean, and he and his gang are mostly ex-cons. Is this a less sympathetic group than a bunch of vets? In today's world, who knows?

Ocean has a plan to rob the vault that houses the cash from three of Vegas' biggest casinos. The places, by Nevada law, are required to have as much money on hand to cover bets as necessary. Ocean's target date coincides with a heavyweight bout, one of the biggest events and busiest times in Vegas. The plan is to make off with around $150 million. Split 11 ways, that's not too bad for a day's work.

But in this case, the deck is stacked against success.

Ocean hooks up first with his pal Rusty (Brad Pitt), who is making a living teaching celebrities how to play cards so they can hang out in the casinos.

Danny and Rusty assemble a gang of folks that includes every conceivable type: an electronics geek, a card-dealing whiz, an aging con-man, a demolition dude and Matt Damon as the "kid," a hotshot pickpocket. Funding for the job is provided by a guy named Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould) who, like Danny Ocean, has a personal dislike for the casino manager.

Implausibility is fine in films that al-ready announce we must suspend our disbelief, but for stories that try to have a sense of realism and the look of "Ocean's Eleven" suggests that the entirely ludicrous situations seem, well ... entirely ludicrous.

As far as a "heist" movie that contains much humor and seems throughout to be a believable scenario, the people who make movies need to screen "Reservoir Dogs" before they give the green light to someone pitching a project like this.

From the technical perspective, "Ocean's Eleven" is impressive. The look is great Soderbergh should be commended for being one of the few big-time directors who does his own cinematography the effects are seamless; the settings superb. Needless to say the cast (listed alphabetically, always the way to avoid ego conflicts) is box-office proven.

But on a more aesthetic level, the dialogue is laughable, the story is unbelievable and the plot devices are much too coincidental. It won't win any critical acclaim or Oscar nods, but it will (thanks to the big-name stars involved) rake in the money at the box office, which is most likely what a movie such as this is trying to do.

Hopefully Soderbergh will get back to his fine form with his next outing.

(Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.)