Clockwise from left: Don Cheadle, Shaobo Qin, Casey Affleck and George Clooney in "Ocean's Eleven."

MOVIE INFORMATION

With 10 as a must-see, Jack gives this film a: Stars: George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon Director: Steven Soderbergh Rated: PG-13, with profanity Length: 117 minutes

ROCHESTERCRITIQUE

Having seen this film, how would you rate it? 10 5 9 4 8 3 7 2 6 1

By Jack Garner
Democrat and Chronicle

(December 7, 2001) -- Hollywood finally remade a movie that deserved remaking: the casino robbery caper Ocean's Eleven.

Too often, studios try to better a proven success. But here, the filmmakers tackled a flawed, over-rated film that left lots of room for improvement.

And this time, it came out right, from the spiffy performances of George Clooney and his all-star friends, to the witty dialogue, to the bright and energetic direction of Steven Soderbergh.

The original Ocean's Eleven is part of the Frank Sinatra legend -- which is also the only reason it entertains. Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and the rest of the infamous Rat Pack made the 1960 film as a sort of floating crap game, an excuse to party along the Las Vegas strip.

As for character development or crime caper intricacies, forget about it. Only the Rat Pack aura could put much ring in this ring-ding-ding of a flick.

The basic premise of both films is the same -- the robbery of several casinos simultaneously in Las Vegas. This time, though, it's three, not five. And even that's a bit of a cheat: The three share an underground vault.

And this time, the gang is made up entirely of professional thieves, starting with Danny Ocean (Clooney), just released from prison.

To pull off the job, Ocean assembles a first-rate team: a dependable right-hand man (Brad Pitt); a young, fast-fingered pickpocket (Matt Damon); an explosives wizard (Don Cheadle, with a wonderful cockney accent); a veteran con artist (Carl Reiner); a casino dealer to be an inside man (Bernie Mac); and a financier to fund the operation (a flamboyant Elliott Gould).

Ocean's target is the owner of the three casinos (Andy Garcia). And it's not just about $160 million; the creep now is with Ocean's ex-wife (Julia Roberts).

While Ted Griffin's script gives everyone a moment to shine and often-delightful dialogue to spout, Soderbergh directs with verve. He's also once again his own cinematographer, perfectly capturing the neon pizazz that defines the Las Vegas look.

To Soderbergh's credit, the new Ocean's Eleven makes no pretense to do more than entertain. And it does so on par with the year's other two cinematic caper escapades -- The Score and The Heist. It's no better, no worse.

The new Ocean's Eleven is an amusing, invigorating, light-hearted and relatively bloodless crime caper, filled to the brim with People magazine cover boys -- and one cover girl -- who also happen to be pretty good actors.

But don't look for anything more substantial. Like Sinatra's original, this Ocean is not very deep. But it is more clever.