Ocean's Twelve (Widescreen Edition) (2004)

cool, fun, entertaining, and surprisingly artful

Ocean's Twelve is a sequel to a remake, which digs it into an unforgivable hole for most viewers. Like the old `the book was so much better than the movie', its very easy for everyone to say that the original was better than the remake, or that a franchise degrades with every new film. It's a phenomenon that is usually fruit of the viewer's inability to distinguish quality with their nostalgia for the original concept; sometimes its difficult to comprehend that something that was enjoyed so dearly could possibly be even vaguely matched, equaled or [gasp] improved upon. It's a difficult thing to come to terms with, and an especially difficult area of defeat to admit when its so easy to be assured valid snobbery by staying `pure' to the original.

Yet the main critiques of this film, all of which could be predicted immediately upon hearing that the sequel was going to exist, indeed have some validity. Ocean's Eleven was a more gripping film. The heists were more fleshed out, it felt more fresh because it was so, and the cast at least convinced most of us that it was a generally equal ensemble. Ocean's Twelve is indeed packed with stars and anyone that brings up egos and paychecks, despite missing the point, technically can't be proven wrong. These areas of critique aren't necessarily wrong, its just that they are so gratuitous and silly in light of such a fun film they remain pointless and off-base.

Ocean's Twelve is basically the sort of film that more artfully inclined viewers will dislike solely because it comes from Hollywood and is jam-packed with stars. Yet they should be encouraged otherwise as it is a fantastic, and dare it be said, highly artistic, film. This is a movie that does have a large budget. It is a slick Hollywood movie, one that is more concerned with begging the viewer to escape within visuals instead of giving them something to think about. True. Yet all this money, all this slickness and indulgence is perfectly acceptable as it is actually admitted and used as an artistic tool. Ocean's Twelve is an acceptable big-money movie because it actually uses its money to make something as interesting as possible. Its okay that it is a lowest common denominator movie because it accomplishes that while still being well-crafted. It may be a slick consumerist star-fest, but it accomplishes that through very upfront means, putting all of its money onscreen for you to see, as opposed to filtering millions into salaries, into lots of needless stuff off-camera you will never know about. It puts its money in a place you can see; splashed all over the screen.

The reason critiques of this movie seem so irrelevant aside from their redundancy is simply the film itself, for what is on the screen is surprisingly artful in a vaguely experimental sort of manner. Everything about this film, from the acting to the wardrobe, from the lavish locations to the great sound design, from the absolute perfect comedic timing to the iconic lines of dialogue absolutely seethes cool, artfulness, and accessibility. Ocean's Twelve is basically Ocean's Eleven in Europe with suspense replaced by more informed filmmaking technique. The constant pull at the viewer's nerves has been abandoned in this film to be replaced by an unforgiving attempt to be as modern, as experimental, and as cool as possible, and it definitely succeeds in doing that.

Ocean's Twelve is essentially a film that is more about the coolness of characters than about organized crime. It is a film more about witty one-liners than about overlying concepts, and is one more concerned with being snazzy than being calculated. Its excessive and decadent, its shiny and breathes money. Its a film to be viewed as nothing but pure unadulterated cool, a film that urges the viewer to leech onto the culture presented and feel vicariously cool as a result. As the shiny suit-wearing troupe travel to Amsterdam they deal with Faberge eggs, French criminals with acrobatic dancing abilities, and the utterly gorgeous Catherine Zeta-Jones, all the while serving as an archetype of true cool. By employing a perfect mix of classic style with ultra-modernity it invites the viewer to tag along as a sort of elite tourist; one with mini bottles of wine and one who is given designer diamonds to wear at dinner. It invites the viewer to travel on yachts in European waters and to stay in hotels regularly trashed by celebrities without really asking for much in return. It is a film filled with charismatic characters that invites its audience to escape into it for a tour of unapologetic excess and power, and its masterful qualities of composition allow that escapism to be an easy process.

As far as technical areas are concerned, Ocean's 12 is effective and masterful on all fronts. Soderbergh has an acute eye for framing and carries off pacing wonderfully, never letting the viewer be bored or taken advantage of, such an easy crime with such material. His actors all excel in their roles, and it's a point of note that an ensemble cast so big can be carried off with such graceful attention to the bulk of its members. There is not an actor in the troupe that is misplaced, off-rhythm, or deflated, all excelling at what it is they are there to accomplish [even if that means merely playing off their own celebrity]. Each seethes whatever effectiveness their role demands, the highlight being Vincent Cassel, who oozes sex-infused charisma, dazzles with acrobatics, and matches the established mood of the entire Ocean's crew every step of the way.

Music has a Modern Europe-doing-Old Europe sort of style that fits the juxtaposition of classic and modern that so pervades the film perfectly. Cinematography is the most free and unapologetically artistic element of the film, utilizing rainy windows, lasers, black and white, and Soderbergh-style colored filters. Editors are allowed much freedom with stylish ways of introducing characters and cities, single letter placards, and abilities to fiddle around with speed. The production also has quite a lot of fun spending time in exotic locations, finding and making places with the irresistible allure that should be used as travel advertisements.

Ocean's Twelve is a technically astute and vastly entertaining picture. It is a very rare sort of Hollywood film that takes its money and actually bothers to use it in a way that gives viewers something to look at, to be in awe of, and to be dazzled by. Its modern and freely artistic, its witty and fanciful. It is an art film cloaked in studio excess, an experiment that seems to have been given full artistic freedom yet still retains its want to entertain. The sheer idea of so many different stylistic choices being stuffed into one movie yet still communicating a cohesive mood is a truly magical one, and Ocean's Twelve accomplishes this absolutely effortlessly. A seamless and thankfully excessive exercise in audacious style, Ocean's allows for the spirit of cinematic enjoyment, and embodies everything that is so grand and so cool about the movies.

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