Ocean’s Thirteen

Year: 2007

Grade: B+

Country: USA

Director: Soderbergh

Review

i wouldn’t mind another one in the series, but i don’t see it happening for a few reasons. this is more of the same and there’s nothing wrong with that in my opinion. they would have to get soderbergh to direct though. sure they could get someone to direct with the soderbergh touch, but i want soderbergh (only one person will get that reference). soderbergh keeps it lively and fresh with his direction, they keep it under 2 hours each time, and the balance of comic relief and action is well done. the downfall of pacino and his casino in this film is the reliance on the system. when common sense dictates that an $11 million slot payout on the first day is fishy pacino looks to his security guru and the guru looks to his mega-computer. the computer shows genuine surprise (elevated heart rate, dilated pupils, etc.) on behalf of the winner so he concludes that it must be legitimate. later, when the machine feels threatened, it locks key personnel in the security room so they can’t get out to thwart the heist. it’s a commentary on the downside of trusting the system more than yourself. it’s part of the reason that another heist was able to be perpetrated on the american people in the form of CDOs, credit default swaps, and a housing bubble. trust in the system and shifting blame to it can only take you so far.