A Fourth Third: Ocean's Thirteen

Every movie I've seen so far this summer has been a third: Shrek The Third, Spider-Man 3 and the third Pirates Of The Caribbean movie. Now, I've seen Ocean's Thirteen and it just might be the best third of the four.

The movie begins with Ocean associate Reuben (Elliott Gould) lying sick in a hospital bed. He got sick after getting shafted on a new casino deal with Willie Bank (Al Pacino). Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and the rest of the gang decide to exact revenge on Bank. Their plot involves spoiling the grand opening of Banks' casino by making him lose a ton of money.

It's clear that everyone in this movie is enjoying themselves and that feeling passes on to the audience. There are less in-jokes (with the notable exception of the last lines in the movie) and more of the laidback goofiness that made the first movie so enjoyable. It's also a nice touch to have Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin working together. Many people may (or may not) remember that the two of them starred together in the movie Sea Of Love.

However, if there's one thing missing, it's suspense. You know they are going to succeed in their task but there aren't really any parts where you almost think that they won't. The main roadblock they encounter is pretty much an excuse to bring back Andy Garcia as Terry Benedict. Even if there's little suspense, it's just fun to see the events in the movie play out.

Overall, Ocean's Thirteen is a really fun summer flick. It's not too long or too short and you can turn off your brain at the door if you want to. This is a movie that will certainly be watched more than once when it comes to cable.