The premise here is that Reuben (Elliott Gould), the beloved bankroller of the fun in 11, has been stiffed by his would-be partner, Willie Bank (Al Pacino). Bank has used Reuben to get prime property in Vegas and to get some wheels greased. Reuben ignored warnings from many of his friends, including Danny Ocean (Clooney), and now Bank has reneged on the deal. That causes Reuben to have a heart attack, which reunites the gang to try and get revenge.
Poor, poor Bank! He should have taken the opportunity Danny offered him to make things right. Instead, he insults Reuben to Danny’s face, insults Danny, and opens the gates for what’s to come.
What’s to come is not pretty for Bank, nor for the poor casino review writer (David Paymer) who’s collateral damage, nor for Bank’s assistant, Abigail Sponder (Ellen Barkin, who I hope was paid a lot, because she’s got one of the most unappealing characters going to play, and isn’t shown in a very flattering light). But it’s a lot of fun to watch it all unfold.
As with 12, everyone is back from the original group, although the parts are certainly not of equal size. Matt Damon’s Linus gets more to work with (both in terms of part and prosthetic), as does Casey Affleck’s Virgil. (And after seeing Affleck’s work in Gone, Baby, Gone recently, I have a lot more respect for his acting chops.) Even the hated Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) is on hand, and this time he’s on the guys’ side, sort of. Missing are Danny’s wife Tess and Rusty’s (Brad Pitt) girl Isabelle; as we’re told repeatedly, “It’s not their fight.” Convenient. But, frankly, they’re not missed.
Oceans 13 has all sort of inside jokes, many of them playing off various cast members’ real life celebrity, especially a great little exchange between Clooney and Pitt at the end. It’s all great good fun.
That said, the special features are a bit disappointing. There’s a very lengthy travelogue paean to Vegas that traces the city’s development and continuous remaking of itself over the years. Producer Jerry Weintraub provides a brief overview of the film set, and there are a few added scenes that don’t add much. Enjoy this one for the film itself.
My favorite part of the specs is a warning that the PG-13 rating is due to “brief sensuality”; this refers to a drawn out seduction (sort of) scene between Damon and Barkin notable primarily for how haggard Barkin looks. Gentlemen, the lady deserves better!
The boys are all back to having a good time in 13. Given the outstanding dramatic work many of them have done in the meantime, they deserved a break. The nice thing about this movie is that we viewers get one, too – some nice humor, jumping music, and the thrill of seeing Pacino’s Bank get what’s coming to him. Hey, he shook Sinatra’s hand. He should have known better!