Ocean's Eleven

By EWAN McDONALD

(Herald rating: * * * )

Dear George Clooney,

You're a really popular actor but, if you don't mind, here's a little hint: if you want people to think you're really cool, don't ever put yourself in a position, or a picture, where people can compare you with Frank Sinatra. No one is as cool as Frank.

Yours sincerely
Ewan


Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Erin Brockovich, Out of Sight) is reunited with Clooney as he directs this remake of the 1960 Sinatra/Rat Pack caper. Clooney stars as Danny Ocean, just released from prison in New Jersey for the only job that they could pin on him. His next heist is already planned: he will put together a gang to rob three Las Vegas casinos of $150 million while the punters are diverted by Lennox Lewis' title fight.

The casinos belong to Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), who made the mistake of showing an interest in Danny's ex-wife, Tess (Julia Roberts), while Danny was incarcerated.

Danny starts to hire professionals from all over the country: there's card magician Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt); pickpocket Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon); pyrotechnician Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle). The bankroll comes from Reuben Tishkoff (Elliot Gould, showing a good deal more than his age), who lost a casino to Benedict; Virgil (Casey Affleck) and Turk Malloy (Scott Caan) will drive and help; and Frank Catton (Bernie Mac), a professional card dealer, gets a job at the casino to watch the routines.

Saul Bloom (Carol Reiner), already retired, will play the high-roller who lives in the hotel, while Livingston Dell (Edward Jemison) bugs the place to have a look over the shoulders of the security personnel.

Finally, the Chinese acrobat Yen (Shaobo Qin) will move inside the safe before the motion detectors are turned off. Well, that's a job for just about everyone in Hollywood plus a few ring-ins.

Much of the movie follows the build-up to the heist but if there is one area where this one is a cut above the usual, it's in the dialogue and the film noir look and feel. It's not about suspense but about Clooney and Roberts trying to look like Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, Garcia as George Raft. Enjoyable, but it ain't Frankie. Or Sammy. Or Dino ...

* DVD features: movie (116min); commentary by Soderbergh and writer Ted Griffin; commentary by Pitt, Damon, Garcia; HBO behind-the-scenes documentary; The Look of the Con, a behind-the-scenes documentary.

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