The Ocean’s Trilogy (Oceans Eleven, Twelve & Thirteen)
The 1960’s was a time of real casino cons and classic hustlers, the inspiration behind movies such as Ocean’s Eleven. However, the movie classic was re-vamped in 1991, with the updated version of Ocean’s Eleven. The film proved a massive box office hit and received widespread critical acclaim for its complex script and movie making that intrigued and delivered knockout twists and turns. The film was followed by two sequels, Ocean’s Twelve and Oceans Thirteen – a trilogy that will go down as one of the best in the business.
Unsurprisingly, the star of all three movies is Danny Ocean (George Clooney) – a professional con man (but in true Hollywood style, he’s a con with morals, a heart and we can’t help but love the guy). However, the Ocean movies are crammed with more star names than the Oscars, including Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Al Pacino and Andy Garcia. Fortunately, they aren’t just there to look pretty and attain box office success and Ocean’s director, Soderberg, creates three brilliant pictures.
Ocean’s Eleven
The first Ocean movie takes place among the glitz and dirty dealing of Las Vegas, as Ocean’s 11 attempt to steal $150,000,000 from The Bellagio, The Mirage and The MGM Grand casino vault on the night of the Lenox Lewis vs. Wladimir Klitschko boxing match. It’s a movie packed with twists, amazing casino tricks and all the stunning delights of Sin City. However, the real fight is over Ocean’s estranged wife, Tess Ocean (Julia Roberts) the lover of the casinos’ owner, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia)!
Ocean’s Twelve
The beauty of the Ocean’s films is the ease with which they link together. Oceans Twelve is set in the aftermath of Oceans Eleven’s successful casino scam. Terry Benedict discovers the real identities of Ocean’s team and demands the cash back, plus $38 million in compensation (that’s a cool $97 million that they don’t have!). We’re soon taken on a whirlwind trip around the world, chasing Faberge Eggs and battling with the infamous European con man, the ‘Night Fox’. However, what’s the Fox’s link to Benedict and what’s the link between mastermind Gaspar LeMarc and Agent Lahiri (Catherine Zeta Jones), the detective trying to locate the stolen egg? Furthermore, whose really being scammed this time? Well, revealing the details would spoil the classic complexities and twists on which the real fun of the film are based. But believe me - the answers are worth waiting for.
Ocean’s Thirteen
After Ocean manages to save his bacon and payback Benedict……we’re back in the glitz of Las Vegas for Ocean’s Thirteen. This time the team’s good friend, Rueben Tishkoff has suffered a heart attack after being scammed out of millions after teaming up with Vegas’ most evil man, Willy Banks (Al Pacino). Banks is given a choice – payback every penny or be forever sorry. Of course, Banks refuses the ultimatum and laughs in the faces of Ocean, setting in motion the all-action Ocean’s Thirteen!
Ocean’s Thirteen is based around revenge for a dead friend – and that means using every conceivable scam to rinse the casino of every penny. It’s a little like Robin Hood, although it’s more akin to the nice rich guys robbing from the nasty rich guys! The slots are rigged to payout millions to lucky Vegas gamblers, the dice are electronically controlled for awesome casino wins, and the likes of Benedict are conned into giving $11 million to good causes and are soon appearing on the Oprah Show with gritted teeth! There’s even time for a spell-bounding controlled earth quake and the Fox fails to get revenge yet again!
The film ends with a nice touch….the team head off into the sunset on their separate journeys – but not before Rusty (Brad Pitt) spins the rigged slot machine one last time and delivers an $11 million jackpot to instantly change one lucky person’s life (see, I told you they had big hearts!).
The Ocean’s Movies form a trilogy that simply isn’t complete until you’ve seen them all. In fact, after watching Ocean’s Eleven, you’ll be itching for Oceans Twelve and Thirteen.
