Oceans of class (James Bond - On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Ultimate Edition, 2 DVDs))

Member Name: Rumblefish

Product:	James Bond - On Her Majesty's Secret Service (Ultimate Edition, 2 DVDs)
Date:	21/02/02 (335 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Style in abundance...

Disadvantages: ...but not much substance.

Rarely do you see a Hollywood blockbuster that is so effortlessly elegant and polished as Steven Soderbergh's OCEAN'S ELEVEN. Watching this film is the cinema-going equivalent of sipping champagne by the poolside on a summer evening. There is very little in the way of thrills and spills in this movie, but there is plenty in the way of sophistication, finesse, and that certain 'je ne sais quoi' which comes with some of life's richer pleasures. For a heist movie it is amazingly bereft of action or suspense. For sheer entertainment it is almost unbeatable.

This is a remake of the 1960 film of the same name starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, and Peter Lawford. But though cited by the likes of Quentin Tarantino as an influence, the original film was really just a vanity project for Sinatra and his fellow Rat Packers, which beyond the sharp suits and razzmatazz was a rather ordinary heist movie. So in one way it is a strange film to choose for a big-budget remake. Though in another sense it is pleasing to see Hollywood trying to improve upon an average original rather than wasting time remaking an acknowledged classic (PLANET OF THE APES, PSYCHO, the list is seemingly endless).

The film begins with the release of suave thief Danny Ocean (George Clooney) from a New Jersey penitentiary. Within hours he has broken his parole and hatched a plan to simultaneously rob three Las Vegas casinos (the Bellagio, the Mirage and the MGM Grand), all of which are conveniently owned by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), the man now seeing his ex-wife Tess (Julia Roberts), who Ocean wants back. After linking up with old acquaintance and sidekick Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), a crew is assembled to pull off this $150 million robbery in two weeks time on the night of a Lennox Lewis world title fight. So we meet young pickpocket Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon), medallion-wearing money man Reuben Tishkoff (Elliot Gould), cockney munitions expert Basher
Tarr (Don Cheadle), aging con-man Saul Bloom (Carl Reiner), corrupt card dealer Frank Cattone (Bernie Mac), anxious surveillance expert Livingstone Dell (Eddie Jamison), getaway guys Virgil and Turk Malloy (Casey Affleck and Scott Cann), and Chinese acrobat and 'grease guy' Yen Mu-Shuu (Shaobo Qin). With his accomplices in place, the only question is whether Ocean can really get away with the money *and* the girl?

Although Soderbergh's film bears little similarity to the 1960 original, it does share with it a complete lack of depth. Indeed after 'issue' movies ERIN BROCKOVICH and TRAFFIC it may come as a shock to his admirers to see Soderbergh making a film with absolutely no social relevance whatsoever. But with more weighty fare in the pipeline, Soderbergh probably deserves a holiday, and this - appropriately enough his eleventh feature - is at least as enjoyable as any of his other works, even if it singularly avoids challenging the audience on any kind of moral or intellectual level.

It makes Soderbergh's task a lot easier that the quite phenomenal cast that has been assembled does not - in the main - disappoint. Clooney, increasingly the modern-day Clark Gable and first choice for any film requiring a dashing leading man, is given another 'matinee idol' role here, and he laps it up. His slightly self-mocking charm is perfect for the role of harmless scoundrel Danny Ocean, so when Roberts accuses him of being a liar and a thief, he simply replies, "I only lied about being a thief". Pitt's quirky performance is essentially comedic - he eats in almost every scene and gets at one point to wear a ridiculous wig - but in it's own way it is just as effective and likeable as Clooney's. Of the other star turns, Damon tries hard and has some good moments but is overshadowed by Clooney and Pitt, whilst Roberts' role - which doesn't begin until about halfway through - is really little more tha
n a decorative one. Garcia adds some gravitas to proceedings as Clooney's ruthless nemesis, but it is a few of the lower-billed stars that almost steal the film. Seventies icon Elliot Gould has never been better as Reuben Tishkoff, all jewellery and vulgarity, and an amusing echo of the old-style Vegas we otherwise don't see in the movie. African-American comedian Bernie Mac is another revelation as Frank Cattone, sharing one of the film's funniest scenes with Damon when the two impersonate a persecuted card dealer and racist gaming official respectively. Probably the film's best performance is by Carl Reiner as retired confidence trickster Saul Bloom, dragged into one last scam having been found wasting his days betting on greyhounds in Florida. There is one distinctly dodgy performance, and that is by Don Cheadle, who sports the most bizarre cockney accent in cinematic history, thereby ruling himself out of a role in EASTENDERS for life.

Soderbergh's direction is as stylish as ever and his vision of Las Vegas in particular is marvellously effervescent and colourful (no Fear and Loathing here - Sin City never looked so classy). In keeping with the film's general panache is a terrific David Holmes-produced soundtrack featuring the likes of Perry Como, Elvis Presley, and Quincy Jones as well as Holmes' own jazzy compositions. Just to really emphasize that this is cinematic caviar we even get a large helping of Debussy's 'Clair de Lune'.

Ted Griffin's screenplay wisely takes little from the original film, opting instead for snappy, witty repartee with lines like "I'm gonna drop you like third period French". The characters rarely do or say anything that 'real' people would do or say, but then with this plot and this cast, is anyone really entering the cinema expecting to see real people?

In fact the film makes no attempt to be plausible in any way at all, and indeed is reliant
upon coincidence and unlikely circumstance from beginning to end (not least the relationship between Clooney, Roberts, Garcia, and Gould). Probably the only realistic sequence in the film involves the heavyweight-boxing contest taking place on the night of the robbery - it ends in a mass brawl.

Furthermore there is little in the way of tension, even during the still magnificently staged and undoubtedly very clever heist. What drama there is unfolds in an entirely unhurried manner, more likely to have you gently applauding its ingenuity rather than gripping the arms of your seat in white-knuckled excitement.

But OCEAN'S ELEVEN isn't aiming for suspense and realism, it's aiming to put a big, stupid grin on your face, and even the slightly lazy ending doesn't prevent it from doing that. Indeed, what is most refreshing about the film is that its dialogue, characters, and narrative are from a traditional, crowd-pleasing school of film-making by which entertainment for the masses need not be packed with blood, explosions and SFX, or push some simplistic moral or political agenda. In this film the crooks really are the good guys - they're funny, charismatic, and you never see them hurt a fly, let alone kill anyone. Garcia's casino-owner on the other hand, has people beaten up by his henchmen at the drop of a hat (Boo! Hiss!), and is even materialistic enough to put money ahead of Julia Roberts in his list of priorities (the cad!). This film has more in common with old Ealing comedies starring Alec Guinness or Peter Sellers than it does with most of the big-budget nonsense that Hollywood normally churns out. What we have here is an old-fashioned crime caper comedy, albeit one laced with extra style.

Soderbergh has made, and will continue to make, other films that will garner far more praise and attention than OCEAN'S ELEVEN. But it is doubtful that he will ever make another film that is so easy on the eye or the ear.
There is, as they say, just no substitute for class.

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