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Review

“You think we need one more?” Danny Ocean (George Clooney) asked Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) in Ocean’s 11, referring to the number of associates in their planned heist of three casinos. They could have easily been talking about the now-profitable film series itself, for after their convoluted exercise in grifting in Ocean’s Twelve, Danny, Rusty and the rest of the gang are all back in form and where they belong – Las Vegas – in Ocean’s Thirteen, an entertaining bit of whimsy, larceny and sleight of hand that won’t knock you out like the first film did, but will definitely keep you smiling. Good to have you back, boys.

The time is the present, and adding to the ever-changing Las Vegas skyline is casino mogul Willy Bank (Al Pacino), who with his new garish uber-casino has just scammed Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould) both out of his land and a partnership in the casino that would have been worth millions. When Reuben suffers a near-fatal heart attack, Danny gets the crew together for a little revenge, Ocean style.

Danny first offers Bank a “Billy Martin,” a second chance (don’t worry, the jargon and expressions that kept you scratching your head in the first two films are here as well – and they’re still fun to try to figure out). Bank declines, of course, in such a stylishly nasty way as to make him an even more hissable villain than Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) was in the first film.

This sets the stage for the sting, including the now-familiar planning-of-the-plan, the preparation and the eventual execution of the con, which includes no less than guaranteeing that the new casino will hand out $500 million in winnings on its opening night, hitting Bank where it hurts the most – the bottom line.

Standing in their way is a new super-computer that is impregnable. It has the ability to monitor every single customer in the casino and gauge whether they are cheating or not. Hey, it’s the 21st century. Thrown into this mix are a funny running gag about an investigator for a prestigious hotel award suffering all sorts of indignities, and a subplot about a plan to steal diamonds, which involves a fake nose, a helicopter and seducing a “cougar” (in this instance, the ravishing Ellen Barkin).

Director Soderbergh keeps the action sailing at a nice pace, and once again gives his ensemble lots of breathing room. Sure these guys can do this in their sleep, now, but no one is sleepwalking through this – the rapport is still fresh and the banter still amusing. Some of it we’ve seen before, but the plot twists are still unpredictable and the con still draws you in. The Vegas locations only add to the fun of it all, though Bank’s casino, unlike Terry Benedict’s which was actually filmed at the Bellagio, is a studio set.

All this unfolds under the neon-drenched glow of the new Vegas, but the ghost of old Vegas haunts quite a few scenes, including a surprisingly moving exchange between Danny and Rusty reminiscing about the old days. Back in the day, when a player shook the hand of Frank Sinatra, they were expected to adhere to a code. Both Willy and Reuben shook Sinatra’s hand; that Banks willingly violates that code makes his comeuppance all the more enjoyable. That Ocean’s Thirteen still adheres to its own code makes this third trek worth visiting yet again such an engaging group of old friends.

 -- David Bleiler