Oceans Twelve (2004)

So pleased was I with having just watched Oceans Eleven that I decided, for the first time ever to give it's follow up, Oceans Twelve, a go. What a Disappointment. The chemistry between the actors is still there, it's still very well shot... but the entire film feels like one massive in joke between those who made the film.

Let me start with one thing that might just put you off completely. Julia Roberts character is at one stage of the film pretending to be Julia Roberts, as someone points out to her that she looks a lot like her. This is a constant reference and is even mentioned in the credits, indicating that the film makers all thought that this was a really clever and hilarious plot point. It's not, it smacks of being too clever for your own good. It feels tired and frankly you lose all interest in her at that point.

Secondly when you've got Vincent Cassel in your film you provide him with a real role to play, arguably France's greatest actor (sorry Depardieu) he's an actor who can really provide some dramatic wight to a film. Instead he plays a boring arch villain type who at one stage gets through a bunch of lasers by effectively break dancing. Seriously, what the fuck?!

Thirdly the plot doesn't really work. You know how Die Hard With a Vengeance doesn't really work as a Die Hard film, then you find out that it was originally just a film called Simon Says, but when Bruce Willis signed on they decided to make it a Die Hard film, force it to link in with the first film and ultimately make it not really feel right throughout. Well the same is true here. Oceans Twelve began life as simply another story, a story that was rewritten for the Oceans franchise when it was announced they would be making a sequel. As such we get a crow-barred in love interest for Rustie, a confusing opening, a very unsatisfying ending to the heist which raises more questions than it does answers and in general a confusing film.

I don't regret buying the entire trilogy, and there are moments in this film which are pretty nice. It's got the usual Soderbergh trademarks and the cast contains some actors who I find eternally watchable. But ultimately it was a crashing disappointment of a film that really needed an outsider to watch and edit. It smacks of Hollywood through and through, and considering it's Hollywood talking about vast sums of money you find yourself actively not caring.