Ocean's 13

It happened quite coincidentally. My brother and I had a spare day in Bangkok, and we decided to go for a movie. Turns out this is one of the few decent movies running.

Ocean's 13 is a decent movie, in the same vein as its predecessors, but dropping the female leads for that extra bit of fast paced action.

The chemistry between Brad Pitt and George Clooney is just amazing. Matt Damon is good in making a fool of himself. Al Pacino is laid back and cool, as the ruthless Bank, whose casino Danny and his gang plan to bring down for avenging Reuben (one of the 12) who was double-crossed out of his money by partner Bank. To this end, they team up with rival casino owner and Danny's rival Terry (Andy Garcia) who is #13.

The base story is probably the best of the 3 Ocean's movies. But the execution is not the best, and that makes some difference. The basic plot moves quickly... much too quickly in some places... with some expected twists and some hilarious subplots. The editing and camera work are slick and probably save much of the movie. The story is mostly told in a linear fashion, making the planning seem a little too prepared with very little suspense, and one could surely have done without the Oprah part. The background score is forgettable. The movie is great in parts - The Five-Diamonds-subplot, in which Banks treats the 'wrong' hotel reviewer as royalty, and the real reviewer gets it in the ass is slapstick but pretty hilarious. The dialogue is suave, laconic and matches the fast paced editing and story, though it does not have as many punch lines as 11. Smaller sub-plots of how to get past the AI security system are well thought out. Banks' female manager was crow-ugly, and positively gets repulsive in her romance scenes with Matt Damon. The French thief, who I was initially happy to see, was really underutilized. But what really lets the film down is the really predictable climax - After building the plot up for 2/3rds of the film, the heist goes exactly according to plan, and Ocean meets Banks to rub it in in a not too funny or subtle way.

In a nutshell,
Pros: Good story... fast pace ... no distracting relationship problems... and Al Pacino.
Cons: Predictable, a few unwanted subplots, not-so-spicy dialogue.

So watchable, but I'd suggest catching the Pirates first, or waiting for Evan Almighty.

P.S: thamizh makkalukku, Shivaji released today... haven't seen it yet, but people say it is good.