Ocean’s Thirteen

Karen Fredrickson

Frank Sinatra has been an icon in music for decades, and his name is eternally associated with Las Vegas. So begins Ocean’s Thirteen, with Reuben (Elliott Gould) getting conned by Willy Bank (Al Pacino), who backstabs him, leaving him broke and injured. This comes as a complete surprise to Reuben, who entered the deal against advice that Bank was untrustworthy because they both shook Sinatra’s hand, and there is an unspoken agreement of honor and loyalty among that elite group. An interesting fact about this is Frank Sinatra played Danny Ocean in the original Ocean’s 11. The Ocean’s gang and their Las Vegas escapades return to DVD with Ocean’s Thirteen (Warner Home Video, MSRP: $28.98).

Cue Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his assorted crew, who, after getting the news about Reuben, decide something has to be done. In plotting their revenge, Roman Nagel, in a scene-stealing role by Eddie Izzard, is called in to help them with the final detail of their heist: the exit strategy. Though he has little screen time, Izzard takes advantage of his small role and becomes the central person in the heist, basically becoming the man upon which its success depends. From here, the film goes through the usual antics that audiences have come to expect from the Ocean’s crew, including a labor strike in Mexico, the usual assortment of disguises and undercover antics and the final part of the movie, when it all comes together as the heist goes off–with a few twists to keep it interesting.

Ocean’s Thirteen varies little from the tried and true formula that has seen the other Ocean’s films reach such box office success. It improves on the disappointing Ocean’s Twelve, but is not creative enough to inspire much more excitement than your average blockbuster film with a formulaic plot. 


Thirteen also has many elements that are unrealistic, not allowing the movie to be examined too closely without spoiling the illusion of a plot. There is a main plot point involving a giant drill that is meant to create an earthquake, forcing a “natural” disaster. Casey Affleck, as Virgil, adds some humor when he goes to the factory that produces the gaming chips, and instead of completing his task, ends up feeling sorry for the workers and encourages them to riot for better treatment. Making a joke out of the poor treatment endured by Mexican factory workers is the closest this film gets to anything serious. There are also a few inside jokes as well as an amusing bit involving Oprah and crying. 

With Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones absences conveniently explained in the beginning, the only female character left is Abigail (Ellen Barkin), the trusted employee of Bank. She is used mainly as a device for part of the robbery. Her character is lacking in personality and makes one wish Roberts or Zeta-Jones had come back for another sequel. Also missing from the film are many of the familiar characters. Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac and some of the other regulars have very little screen time. 

Surprisingly, the DVD is lacking in special features. It includes only a few, the most interesting of them being the deleted scenes. Unfortunately, most of them are not that different or interesting than the actual scenes in the film. There is a little humor in one scene with Turk (Scott Caan) working in the casino restaurant and there is also a scene with Roman and Livingston (Eddie Jemison), which explains an unanswered question from the film.

The special features also include a set walk-through with producer Jerry Weintraub entitled “Jerry Weintraub Walk and Talk,” which is interesting for those who enjoy behind-the-scenes information on filmmaking. The walk-through takes audiences on a tour of the Ocean’s Thirteen casino. For the average viewer, however, this is a pointless segment that can be skipped. 

The only other special feature included on the Ocean’s Thirteen DVD is “Vegas: An Opulent Illusion,” a 22-minute documentary which takes the viewer through the city of Las Vegas. It contains an interesting segment on the evolution of the city but comes off a bit like a travel advertisement more than a behind the scenes look at anything. The only thing that ties it to the film is the inclusion of a few scenes. 

There are many bonus features that could have been included on the DVD release that would have been much more interesting. With such a large cast, outtakes would likely have been amusing, especially having seen the interactions between Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon in interviews. Another special feature that would have been entertaining is a behind-the-scenes featurette that included the actors as opposed to just a tour of the set. Clooney is well known for playing practical jokes on his cast mates and that would have been another feature worth watching. An even more interesting feature would have been a trivia track about the film, of which there is a lot. There is the Frank Sinatra connection as well as many Godfather references due to the casting of Pacino, who starred in The Godfather. There are numerous other little bits of trivia that could have been included, too. Interviews with the actors would also have been interesting as well as giving insight into how and why the characters interact the way that they do.

Overall, Ocean’s Thirteen is worth a watch for some fun entertainment, but with the exception of the deleted scenes, skip the special features–the few of them that there are. 

Ocean’s Thirteen is now available on DVD.

This was originally published on the web site SouthernCalifornia.com.