Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and the gang would have only one reason to pull off their most ambitious and risky casino heist—to defend one of their own. When ruthless casino owner Willy Bank (Al Pacino) double-crosses one of the original Ocean’s eleven—Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould)—Danny and the gang team up one more time to see if they can break “the Bank.”


Ocean’s Eleven made $450 million worldwide. Ocean’s Twelve made $362 million. Twelve may have taken a tongue-lashing from critics, but obviously audience interest is there. The truth is that if you pack a movie, or anything for that matter, with enough celebrities people will show up. What, you thought people watched ‘Dancing With the Stars’ for the dancing?

But is there anywhere left to go for Danny Ocean and his crew of complimentary skilled criminals? Apparently the answer to that question is no, since for Ocean’s Thirteen they’re back in the business of robbing casinos. Maybe that’s not a bad thing though, Ocean’s Twelve got a little bit away from the formula set up in the first movie, and the results weren’t good. Stick with what you know, and what the Ocean’s movies know is casinos.

The good news is that nearly everyone in the cast and crew has stuck with it. Steven Spielberg is directing again and all the principle cast members, with the exception of Julia Roberts are back. Maybe the franchise’s female fans will miss Julia, but let’s face it, she was never that big a part of the thing anyway. Ladies, console yourself with the sexiness of George Clooney. Now you can have him all to yourself.

So it’s simply a question of whether or not Ocean’s Thirteen can recapture the fun and glitz of the first film. Everything’s in place, it really depends on the script. The good news is that it’s co-written by Rounders screenwriters David Levien and Brian Koppelman. They know a thing or two about gambling and good movies, which is exactly where it looks like Ocean’s 3 is headed.

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