Ocean’s Twelve (2004) Review

Ocean’s Twelve (2004)

Ocean’s Twelve follows Danny Ocean and the rest of the Bellagio crew, who, after Terry Benedict is tipped off about their involvement, must come up with all of the money they stole, sending them to Europe to pull off another series of heists. 

It’s always a bit tricky when you get a sequel to a wildly successful, well-made film because the sequel will always be held to the standard of the original. In the case of Ocean’s Twelve, that’s sadly the case, as the second installment in the Ocean’s franchise takes all the style, substance, and class that made the first so enjoyable and just chucks it out the window. Whereas Eleven was structured to be a snappy heist film, with the cinematography reflecting that, Twelve also mirrors it’s story, a chaotic race against time where there is no plan, using shaky, handheld shots over dolly shots, creating a sense of frenzy and disorganization that really hurts the final product. 

As for the story however, while it initially showed promise, having the crew tracked down and put on a deadline for their previous heist, it loses steam immediately after, resorting to a predictable and cheap narrative that instead of pulling off the job under Benedict’s deadline, introduces the Fabergé Coronation Egg as a MacGuffin of sorts to pay off their debt, and STILL uses a cop out to have the Ocean’s crew on top, after having them fail miserably to get it the entire movie. 

Twelve boasts an impressive cast, starring Shaobo Qin, Eddie Jemison, Scott Caan, Casey Affleck, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, Andy Garcia, Elliot Gould, Julia Roberts, Vincent Cassel, Matt Damon, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Brad Pitt, and George Clooney, though whereas everyone shined in the first, no one really stands out in particular here. With the exception of Pitt and Zeta-Jones, who share a nice little bit of romantic rivalry, most of the cast feels very underutilized and just there for face value. 

Ocean’s Twelve, directed by Steven Soderbergh, while not a bad sequel, hardly comes close to capturing the intricate magic of the first, coming off as one big cop out to explain a badly written movie. 

6.2/10