Cast's away

>> Do too many stars almost sink Ocean's Eleven?

by MATTHEW HAYS

It's been a while since quite so much A-list talent convened for one feature. Given equal billing on the first rung of Ocean's Eleven is George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts. (The credits and press material are careful to note that they're listed in alphabetical order, so no egos will be ruffled.)

But here they are, and in a semi-unfortunate turn, they're caught up in another heist movie, so soon after The Score and Heist. The good news is, up to a point, the movie fares better than those two previous crime caper movies. Steven Soderbergh's directorial hand and screenwriter Ted Griffen's penmanship make the film feel more like homage than a dreary retread. The plot is simple: Clooney arrives out of prison and wants to mastermind a superheist, dipping into the loot at three different Vegas casinos at once. Impossible, he's told, but that's an essential part of the setup. He assembles his eleven brilliant criminals and they set out to get past security guards, dodge surveillance cameras and dupe electronic sensors. Garcia is the sleazy casino owner who strives not to be ripped off.

Soderbergh knows how to have a good time, and the director also knows how to keep things pretty. This is a gorgeous film, and his musical choices are also bang-on. As well, there's some delightful, self-consciously old-fashioned banter between the romantically frustrated Clooney and Roberts (he wants her back, she's not having him) that's both hilarious and touching.

But Ocean's Eleven actually suffers as a result of its luminous cast list. With star wattage like this, one's left feeling, shouldn't there have been more, and better? It's as though the film reaches some sort of cast critical mass, and deflates as a result. (With these names in one place, I was expecting to witness the Second Coming.)

I got the same feeling I did while watching one of the original Rat Pack movies (this is a remake of one of those). Pleasant enough, but I feel like the cast had more fun making the movie then we do actually watching it. All that talent, and we're left with a mixed bag: Ocean's Eleven is neither groundbreakingly good nor an utter waste of time.