The gang is back. Danny Ocean (George Clooney) gathers his partners in crime together when one of their own is in trouble. After Reuben (Elliott Gould) is swindled out of his partnership in a new high tech Las Vegas casino by his "former" business partner Willy Bank (Al Pacino), he has a heart attack and loses all desire to live. So Danny and the gang decide to give him a reason to live. Yes, first they get mad, but then they get even!
Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Eddie Jemison, Shabo Qin, and Carl Reiner concoct a master plan to break the Bank, so to speak. While Willy is "banking" on making a big profit during the opening of the casino so he can pay off his investment, the gang devises a plan to allow the big gambling whales and other patrons to win everything and then leave before they have a chance to lose it again. But the gang runs into a little cash flow problem while putting everything in motion so they enlist the aid of their former nemesis Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) who would love to see his hotel rival lose his shirt. Also joining in the caper is Eddie Izzard who helps them get around the very technical new state-of-the-art security system. As he tells them, they are "analog players in a digital world," but together they manage to bring themselves into the digital age.
With all the intricacies, double crossing, and delicate planning, this story is imaginative, as usual, but it lacks a little of the sparkle and pizzazz of the other films. Producer Jerry Weintraub makes an appearance, and for movie buffs, this is a delight.
Co-writer David Levien says, "In 'Ocean's Eleven,' Danny wants to get his wife back and take down casino owner Terry Benedict, so the guys all work together to undertake this incredibly elaborate heist. 'Twelve' is about them using their skills to literally survive - to get out of the trouble that they got themselves into in 'Eleven.' 'Thirteen is all about friendship, which was a great jumping-off point for the movie. ... It's not just a heist for the sake of it."
"It's a charitable heist, if you will," comments Andy Garcia. "They're doing it for all the right reasons, which means there's no money in it for them," explains Don Cheadle. "They're not stealing anything; they're letting everybody else rake it in," smiles Clooney. And Pitt adds, "The message here is if someone screws over one of them, he screws over all of them."
Damon is happy that his part this time is a bit different. "I finally got the love interest in one of these movies," he proudly says. Ellen Barkin plays Bank's assistant who is the "mark" Damon is supposed to seduce, with the help of a magic concoction.
While there are some funny and clever scenes, and the gang is fun to watch, this film lacks the oomph of its predecessors.
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