2710. Ocean’s Eleven (2001)

Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Running Time: 116 mins

Ocean’s Eleven is an American film about Danny Ocean, an expert robber recently released from prison, who assembles a team of eleven accomplices for a legendary heist on one of Las Vegas’ most formidable casinos.

As suave and slick as the movies get, Ocean’s Eleven is an irresistibly entertaining heist caper. Featuring a massive ensemble cast filled with charisma and cool, it’s difficult not to fall under the spell of this team of cunning criminals, and with a screenplay that’s just as clever and intricate as it is funny, Ocean’s Eleven proves an enormously enjoyable and satisfying watch from beginning to end.

There’s so much to love about this movie, but the one thing that really makes it stand out in the memory is that legendary cast. Not only is it filled with a whole host of A-listers: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts and Don Cheadle to mention but a few, but it’s a massive ensemble cast that works amazingly as one, something far, far harder to achieve than you may think.

The beauty of Ocean’s Eleven is that it gives each of its main characters a distinct and memorable identity, but doesn’t attempt to balance eleven, twelve or thirteen different character backgrounds and stories all at the same time, instead quickly bringing the team together over the course of a brilliantly slick opening act, and then keeping its focus on the core heist premise that makes this story tick.

As a result, a film that – judging by all convention – should have been a total mess, is anything but. With a number of charismatic and slick lead performances, the characters are engaging and entertaining, but rather than trying to juggle a multi-character-driven plot throughout, this is first and foremost a heist movie.

So, as memorable as its main characters and A-list cast are, the fun of Ocean’s Eleven comes from its deliciously intricate heist plot, as we follow the cunning and frankly ludicrous plans of the team to fleece a major Las Vegas casino.

Up against a brilliantly villainous casino boss played by Andy Garcia, the team dodges and dices through all the hoops to find a way into the vault. Realistically speaking, the plan is as theatrical and ridiculous as it gets, but with the team’s irresistible charisma and capacity for slick and suave manoeuvres under casino security, it’s difficult not to be entirely taken by the high-stakes heist as it unfolds in such intricate fashion.

Couple that with a great sense of humour that gives the film a brilliantly playful air, and you have a movie that’ll have you grinning and laughing right the way through, allowing its heist plot to play out in fantastically entertaining fashion.

Overall, then, I loved Ocean’s Eleven. First and foremost an irresistibly cool movie, its legendary ensemble cast and immense charisma make it a hugely entertaining watch throughout, all the while bringing in a deliciously intricate heist plot that, no matter how ridiculous it may seem on the face of things, makes for an enormously enjoyable watch, and that’s why I’m giving it a 7.9.