Producing a successful remake isn’t easy—but
Steven Soderbergh did it in 2001 with .nightsandweekends.com/articles/02/NW0200264.php>Ocean’s Eleven, the
remake of the 1960 Rat Pack film. The remake had an amazing cast and a great story. It
was Rat-Pack-smooth and Las-Vegas-cool. It was hip. It was swingin’. It was a huge
success. So Soderbergh decided to try it again. After all, if he could make a
successful remake, surely he could make a successful sequel,
too…right?
In Ocean’s Twelve, the star-studded cast returns to do
another job. Three years after the Vegas job, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) decides that
he wants his money back from Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and the other ten guys who
pulled it off so brilliantly. Benedict hunts each one down and gives them two weeks to
give him back the money (with interest)—or else. So the eleven head to Europe to
do one more job. There, they find themselves in a race against Baron François Toulour
(Vincent Cassel), a French thief known as the Night Fox, who wants to prove that
he’s the world’s greatest criminal mastermind—not Danny Ocean. And they’re being
followed by Rusty’s (Brad Pitt) old flame, Europol agent Isabel Lahiri (Catherine
Zeta-Jones), who’s determined to stop them.
Ocean’s Twelve isn’t a
horrible sequel, but it still falls seriously short of living up to the brilliance
of the 2001 hit. The story isn’t nearly as smooth or as hip—and the twists and turns
just don’t fit together as perfectly as before. Instead of relying on a well-written
script, Twelve relies more on cheap laughs and cool European locations. And
there’s one painful twist that breaks the rules of Hollywood—leaving the viewer feeling
cheated.
On its own, Ocean’s Twelve is an entertaining crime
film. It’s got a spectacular cast—who obviously had an excellent time hanging out and
making the movie together. It’s got action and adventure. And what it lacks in story,
it makes up for (well, mostly) in execution. But as a sequel, it’s disappointing,
showing that some things are just better left un-sequel-ed.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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