Ocean's 13

Starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Elliot Gould, Al Pacino, and Andy Garcia
Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Summary
When Willie Bank (a Vegas hot shot played by Al Pacino) leaves Ruben (Elliot Gould) hung out to dry in a business deal, and causes him to drop into a semi-comatose state, Danny Ocean and the gang decide to intervene. Amazingly, all eleven return for this film in which the gang decides to ruin Bank's opening of his hotel-casino through an elaborate scam. After giving Banks the chance to do the right thing, the gang plots a scam that involves rigging slots, blackjack, craps, and even a hotel review. The plot ends up involving a factory in Mexico, a fake nose for Linus (Matt Damon), and even a partnership with Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia as the villain from Ocean's 11).

Review
Some people disliked Ocean's 12, but I thought it was fine, just not as great as Ocean's 11. However, I thought Ocean's 13 was at least as good as the original if not better. The movie was just a lot of fun to watch. The Mexico strand was hysterical (Senior Zapato). The Vegas scam was pretty ingenius. And they threw in some other gags that were great also. The movie had a great plot, but these movies are driven by the pure enjoyment of watching the characters interact with each other. In these movies, however, there is always the wrestling match. We wonder why we feel such a desire to root for Ocean's gang, when they themselves are professional criminals. Is it because they are so slick and funny? Is it because we believe that only corrupt people end up being hurt by their actions? I am not totally sure, but that would be a worthwhile question for another time.

Question for Thought
Who carried out justice? Is it up to us to make things right when someone does something that is wrong? How does our understanding of God's ultimate judgment impact the way we interact with injustice in this life?

Overall
As I said, fun movie. Very fun characters. Good fun plot. Memorable gags. Lots of fun to watch, with very little objectionable material.

Rating: 4 Stars out of 5 possible