Overall Rating
  Awesome: 26.73%
Worth A Look: 43.32%
Just Average: 21.66%
Pretty Crappy: 5.53%
Sucks: 2.76%
15 reviews, 127 user ratings
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Ocean's Eleven (2001) |
by Bishop
"Like a Cheese Sandwich When You're Hungry"

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What a cast! Who wasn't thinking that going into the remake of the old Rat Pack flick Ocean's 11? The film is suave, swank, and glossy on all accounts...but it lacks something that one really cannot place.First of all, trying to recreate the phenomenon that was the Rat Pack is difficult, and is not really pulled off that well. Brad Pitt and Matt Damon are good, but Clooney is bland, Don Cheadle isn't used well (kind of annoying, undeveloped, and a CHEESEY English accent on top of that) and the bit parts of many mid level stars really makes you wonder "Why?." Clooney isn't the only thing here that is bland, this whole film turns out to be one gigantic mail-in. It is as though everyone is on cruise control. As I said, the film does have a certain flair in the visuals and cinematography, and Pitt and Damon are good, but otherwise this film on the whole is completely and utterly average. It just seems as though it is difficult at best to do a "heist" film that is any good (although this is a remake), see another great cast/average movie in The Score. Soderbergh, coming off of the masterpiece that was Traffic "mails it in" like so many of the cast members, the directing isn't bad, but it isn't anything to write home about either. I can recommend this move as one for a date, in that you can pay attention to your date and not have to invest much attention in the film to still get out of it what you would if you were viewing it alone, and if you're date isn't the "smart" film type, you'll probably be in luck. For anyone who has seen Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and remembers the scene where the filming of "Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season" is taking place, director Gus Van Sant is on the sidelines counting money, and Damon and Affleck (all three playing themselves) use the money they stand to make as motivation for doing the film. What is the point of this diatribe? I get the same vision of Soderbergh, Clooney, Roberts and the majority of the lot doing the same thing (I know, they took a pay cut, but what about gross percentages?).All in all, this film is well worth the wait for video. It is disappointing on the whole, although not bad...just bland. It's like having a cheese sandwich, when you're hungry...it's nothing spectacular, but hey, you're hungry. Just average.
link directly to this review at https://www.hollywoodbitchslap.com/review.php?movie=3897&reviewer=289 originally posted: 02/18/02 02:48:19
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OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2005 CineVegas Film Festival For more in the 2005 CineVegas Film Festival series, click here.
Trilogy Starters: For more in the Trilogy Starters series, click here.
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USA 07-Dec-2001 (PG-13)
UK N/A
Australia 10-Jan-2002
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