7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 3.4 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.8 |
Less than 24 hours after being released from prison, charismatic thief Danny Ocean orchestrates the most sophisticated casino heist in history. In one night, Danny's handpicked 11-man crew of specialists -– including an ace card sharp, a master pickpocket and a demolition genius -– will attempt to steal over $150 million from three Las Vegas casinos owned by Terry Benedict, the ruthless entrepreneur who just happens to be dating Danny's ex-wife Tess. To score the cash, Danny will have to risk his life and his chance of reconciling with Tess...
Starring: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt, Julia RobertsCrime | 100% |
Heist | 63% |
Comedy | 41% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
German: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Heist and caper movies have been part and parcel of film history since. . .well, since The Great Train Robbery, the 1903 movie credited with being one of the first successes of any real length in narrative form (the British actually may have gotten there first with A Daring Daylight Robbery, but I’ll be a chauvinist for purposes of this review). Now, Robbery may not have been the most artful heist movie on record, but it started a genre that has been one of the most unfailingly popular throughout the ensuing century plus since it first lit up screens. What is it about caper and heist films that so captivates audiences? Part of it must be the intricate planning which is more often than not lovingly detailed, though crafty filmmakers often show plots being hatched without fully revealing various details, giving some nice “so that’s how they dd that” moments to audiences during the denouement. And of course there’s the vicarious thrill of seeing someone, or a group of someones, make off with what is usually a pretty lucrative catch. In fact it’s interesting to note than in most heist films, the audience is unabashedly rooting for who in any other film would be the bad guys—the thieves. Sometimes the heist is the focus of the film (Topkapi), while at other times, it becomes almost tangential to what is really going on (The Usual Suspects). Capers can be played for laughs (A Fish Called Wanda) or deadly seriously (The Asphalt Jungle). What really matters is a plan of intricacy which, unless handled by a master of, say, John Huston’s capabilities, usually shuffles the characters instigating the plan pretty much into the background. Ocean’s Eleven is the perfect example of that proclivity—it derives its very palpable fun from the plan being executed, but the characters are either glyphs or stereotypes, existing pretty much off the pure star wattage the leading players bring to them. This is pure escapist fare, and as such fulfills its modest ambitions more or less perfectly.
George Clooney is Danny Ocean, soon to be ex-con with an audacious plan.
Ocean's Eleven 1080p/VC-1 encoded image is remarkably sharp and detailed, with a pleasing assortment of well saturated colors throughout. Soderbergh does utilize some post-production processing on some shots, and the film opens with a sort of blue-green prison scene which is striking. Some of the "historical heist recreation" shots are similarly in grainy black and white and a sort of garishly over saturated 1970's look, both of which the Blu-ray handles with ease. There's an appealingly high level of detail throughout the film, including everything from Pitt's unkempt hair to the nap of the green velour table coverings in Vegas. The heist section features long segments swathed in darkness, and contrast and black levels throughout this sequence are quite good. The Blu-ray perfectly resolved some busy pattern work as well, including the multitude of lit signs on the Strip. This is a definite step up from the SD-DVD release, and should please even the most discriminating videophile.
Unfortunately, the audio options aren't up to Blu-ray state of the art, with a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 track as the main offering. While I'm not the lossless purist that a lot of Blu-ray aficionados are, I was a little disappointed in this mix, which is awfully front-centric most of the time. In fact, one of the few times I felt really immersed in the soundscape was the MGM Grand arena scene at the fight, when finally some rear channel action kicked in. There is some good, if not exceptional, use of LFE in a series of explosions which rock the soundfield from time to time. Dialogue is crisp and clear and occasionally excellently directional, but, again, I was really surprised by how much of this film plays front and center from a dialogue perspective. The popularity of this film made it an early Blu-ray prospect and Warner simply may not have had the time or acumen to provide a true high definition sound mix for this release.
Several middling to good SD supplements augment the feature (all ported over from the previous SD-DVD release):
• Two OK to very good commentaries are included, the lesser one featuring Soderbergh and Griffin. Stick with the much better star commentary, which is frequently hilarious if not especially "scene specific."
• The Look of the Con gives background on the costume design.
• HBO First Look is a pretty lame "behind the scenes" featurette with typical fare.
• Theatrical teasers and trailers.
Ocean's Eleven may not be the best heist film ever made, but it's one of the most enjoyable, due largely to the breezy interplay of a galaxy of top flight stars. Soderbergh mounts the action with fluidity and confidence, and Clooney and Pitt prove they're ready for any 21st century Road picture.
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