By Guy Wheatley
The Texarkana Gazette

The original Ocean's eleven targeted 5 casinos, The Flamingo, Sahara, Desert Inn, The Riviera, and The Sands. In the all-star remake only three casinos, The Bellagio, the Mirage, and Treasure Island, are hit. All three casinos are owned by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), and keep their cash in the same vault so even hitting three of them only requires one job. This doesn't mean that the remake is only 3/5s as good as the original. The narrowing of focus allows director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Erin Brockovich) a latitude he wouldn't have had covering multiple locations.
This version is faster paced than the original taking far less time to develop the characters. The title character is the only one to survive by name from the 1960 original. George Clooney updates Danny Ocean for the 21st century. While still the coolest guy in the room, he is also subject to the foibles we've come to expect from modern leading men. He also brings more emotion into the action. We quickly learn that Danny has a personal grudge against Benedict.
Julia Roberts also updates the role of Danny's wife. Angie Dickinson's character was named "Bea." Julia plays a more updated "Tess," and has much more screen time, in a shorter movie, than her predecessor. Unlike Bea, who proclaimed her love for Sinatra's Danny, Tess has found Clooney's Danny lacking and moved on. If the 21st century Danny wants her back, he's going to have to do a lot more than show up and look charming.
The interaction between Danny and Tess is reminiscent of Clooney's Ulysses Everett McGill, and Holly Hunters's Penny from "Oh Brother, Where art Thou?" It wouldn't be surprising to hear Tess tell Danny, "You're just not bonafide."
Brad Pitt's Rusty Ryan is the glue holding the team together. Once again diverging from the original, this team is brought together for the first time to do this job. Many of the guys haven't met before. This creates a different dynamic. There is less nostalgic reminiscing about the good old days and more focus on what they are after.
We are assured that the job is impossible, but the guys are going to do it anyway. The plan is laid out slowly and indistinctly for the audience and the fast paced action takes several surprising turns. We think we know what is going on, but we're not quite sure.
The screenplay by Ted Griffin and Stephen Carpenter gives us a scenario that will pass as plausible to any but security experts. As with all good suspense movies, there are glitches that keep the characters on their toes, and the viewers on the edge of their seats. The screenplay never relies on unbelievable long shots to keep the characters out of trouble.
Several times Soderbergh revisits a scene, and by way of explanation, shows us an event he didn't show us the first time around. He uses cinematic effects such as slow or flash motion in conjunction with unusual camera angles to clearly delineate between the current action and explanatory flash backs. David Holmes gives us an effective soundtrack that keeps the beat at a brisk pace with a light-hearted mood. Holmes avoids a clichéish track by staying away from rat-pack sounds. There is a single Dean Martin number, and that is presented as a background noise within the film.
Despite the high stakes, the characters appear to be having fun and the audience does too. This talented cast takes us on a ricochet ride, bouncing off obstacles and each other that is well worth the price of admission.

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