Ocean’s 11 – Film Review

Warner Bros. Pictures

I wanted to go back a few years and came across the very entertaining, suspense packed film of 2001, Ocean’s 11. It essentially is a comedy heist film based on the original Ocean’s 11 from 1960. The premise of the film is based on a group of men who plan to rob a large Grand Casino in Vegas. The leading character is Danny Ocean (George Clooney), a former prisoner, who recruits a team to help him with this pursuit. As the film progresses, it is discovered that Ocean has a personal agenda attached to this heist. His intention is to win back his ex-wife but it coincidentally happens that her new partner is the Casino’s owner.

Once this conflict of interest is discovered, it appears there is a breakdown within the group with Danny being excluded from the heist plans. This is not however the case as he eventually plays a pivotal role and through the effective coordination of the team’s actions, they are successful.

The aclaimed director, Steven Soderbergh does an excellent job of making the narrative gripping and visually depicting intricate details of the security obstacles the group has to overcome. What distinguishes this film and makes the story seem authentic rather than outlandish is that each supporting actor’s character has their own unique personality and skill sets but are immediately drawn together by a common goal. This is coupled with a credible set of circumstances that may eventuate and transform into obstacles should a realistic breach of security arise.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Another clever film technique used by Soderbergh is revisiting the same scene but depicting it from another perspective to convey the clever deception.

This film is a great pop corn flick. A big thumbs up.

4 Stars

By Navin Ralhan