Ocean's Twelve (2004) User Reviews

Leaves you pining for '11'

[Sweet_Ophelia · 5/10 · 11 December 2004]

Three years ago Danny Ocean (Clooney) and his team stole 160 million dollars from Terry Benedict (Garcia). Now Benedict wants his money back. Plus interest. Thus Ocean and his crew must scramble together what they owe; too hot to work in America, they set their sights on Amsterdam.... where, not so coincidently, Rusty Ryan (Pitt) has an ex-love (Zeta-Jones) who just so happens to be head of police and hot on their trail. But Benedict and sexy cop Isabel Lahiri (Zeta-Jones) aren't the crew's only problem. Another thief under the alias of "nightfox" ( Vincent Cassel) is keen to battle it out with Ocean and his team; to decide who the best thief (or thieves) are.

And there you have Ocean's 12; a film which falls too short in terms of wit, appearance, plot... and pretty much everything else in comparison to the original Ocean's 11.

One thing must be made clear, however; the cast is great. Spectacular really. There is a definite and rare chemistry between everyone; even Catherina Zeta-Jones, newcomer to the Soderbergh film. And it is indeed very rare to jam-pack a film with so many big name celebs without the film being ruined by too much star power and not enough of anything else. And these films do indeed have A lot of Hollywood star power in them; Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Catherina Zeta Jones, Bernie Mac, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle... just to name the biggest names. And watching Ocean's 11, you can tell that the crew enjoyed making this film. Unfortunately, the audience may not gain the same pleasure as the actors did....

If you were like me, absolutely blown away by the chic and jazzy first film, then Ocean's 12 will be a disappointment. The first movie was simply 'classy'. All of the shots, every single take, camera angles were all very clean-cut, solid and very stylish. In this film however, Soderbergh decides to use the currently popular 'shaky cam' technique for some scenes. I can understand why. In this film, unlike the first one, the crew haven't had time to plan to perfection their 'pull'. In this film its a mad rush to meet Benedict's deadline and I suppose Soderbergh wanted to get that rashness and disorientation across. But it wrecks the film. He really should have stuck to his original idea of having it all snazzy, bold and clean. Plus it is confusing when the film snaps between past and present to explain how the crew made some of their robberies; it looks messy and ugly to change between shaky cam to the bolder scenes.

Secondly, the laughs are fewer in 12 and the script is duller. Ocean's 11 had a quick-wit and many a memorable line. Ocean's 12 has to sink so low as to throw in an age joke for Clooney; "Do i look 50?". The plot is predictable; from Julia Robert's 'impersonation' to the crew's great escape. It's all very blunt and can be spotted a mile away. And the summing up of the 'pull' is a little confusing; past tense (there's that shaky cam again!). I cant give too much away but my personal opinion is that the explanation of how the team pulled of the robbery is a little confusing and a sort of "huh"? moment which you will need to disucss with other's who have seen the film, to make sure you absolutely understood everything.

All in all the film is a let down. By all means go and see it; if for no other reason than to drool over the gorgeous Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and George Clooney.... But do not get your hopes up. As the credits roll you will find yourself feeling cheated somehow. Ocean's 11 was a real gem but Ocean's 12 just leaves you pining for the original.... 5.5/10

a mistake

[Special-K88 · 18 December 2004]

Three years after Ocean's Eleven the gang's all back for more in this sequel. This time around the elusive group of thieves and con artists reunite and travel abroad to Europe to pull off another elaborate heist after vengeful casino mogul Terry Benedict (García) tracks them down looking for reimbursement. Little do they dream that they'll face stiff competition from a self-proclaimed criminal mastermind (Cassel) who's determined to try and upstage them. The latest in a long line of tepid Hollywood sequels; the cast may have had fun making this film but that doesn't mean the audience will as it drags on for over two hours with endless story lulls, self-conscious humor, and banal dialogue. One particularly embarrassing in-joke falls flat and leaves you wondering just how desperate the producers were to earn cheap laughs. The same group of gifted actors that made the original so special are wasted here, as the needlessly convoluted "script" lacks any wit, style, or sense of purpose. **

Ocean's Twelve: 6/10

[movieguy1021 · 6/10 · 15 December 2004]

It's inevitable, isn't it? After the success of the remake of Ocean's Eleven, out comes the sequel three years later. I liked the style of the teaser trailer (and was probably one of the only ones who didn't mind the name), so naturally, I was looking forward to the movie. Naturally, it's a sequel, so it's inferior to the original (which I liked more than the original of the original). The entire cast is back (plus one more, obviously) for the necessary foreign-country locations and trendy scene transitions. There's the constant music, the people with the general European accents (well, villains), and every other caper movie cliché in the books.

Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his eleven/twelve compadres are forced to pay back the money that they stole from Terry Benedict's (Andy Garcia) casinos three years earlier. To get the money, they have to steal it in Europe.

Where the first movie was fun, this sequel was mildly entertaining. It went on a little long, but was never boring. It's watchable (as all crime movies like these should be), but not really entertaining. I wasn't having fun while watching a lot of Ocean's Twelve. I wasn't bored, either. I was in Limbo of the movie world. All of the Vegas glitz added to the first, and here it's drab European backgrounds. Steven Soderbergh's directing also makes the film harder to enjoy. The film's choppy-we don't see events that happened until after the fact (if that makes any sense), and there are so many subplots and characters with similar sounding names that eventually we stop caring. Whenever a movie makes me do that, I usually focus more in on the fun aspects of the movie. And sure, the movie had its fun moments, and never left me bored, but overall, it just lacked that ultra-cool style that the first one had.

Then again, every actor's back in cool form. Catherine Zeta-Jones is the newbie here, and although her character is barely defined, she still manages to be cool. George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt (being on screen probably more than anyone else), Matt Damon-they're all cool. But it's obvious that this isn't the best sequel that could have been made for Ocean's Eleven-the movie was originally written for a completely different movie, and then readapted to a sequel. Because of that, there aren't really any reminders on who these people were. I remembered Clooney, Roberts, Garcia, and a few character names and quirks (such as Pitt's obsessive eating), but, really, who were these people? Did Soderbergh think that we would all rush out to see the first one before seeing this? I'll bet as many people did that as the number who went to see the Russian Solyaris after Soderbergh made Solaris.

The caper this time around isn't as interesting (the major one doesn't come in until halfway through), nor as easy to follow. In fact, the whole movie's basically a convoluted mess. The subplot about Isabel's father, things like that...if there's a definition of worthless, that's it. Also, that "Julia Roberts" bit went on for too long. We got the joke there. At that moment, I think that the movie thought it was funny enough to abandon basically the entire plot and go with a ten minute schtick, when there was basically no other humor in the movie. Still, Ocean's Twelve isn't terrible, and can offer a good time if you're the right person.

My rating: 6/10 Rated PG-13 for language.

Great Cast and Budget Wasted in an Awful Screenplay and Terrible Direction

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 11 June 2006]

The 2001 remake of Lewis Milestone's "Ocean's Eleven" is a good adventure, with action, comedy and thriller in an updated screenplay. When this sequel was released, I was impressed with the number of stars and locations mostly in Europe, and certainly a huge budget. Unfortunately, this movie does not have the most relevant component: a decent screenplay. The beginning is confused and most of the situations and dialogs are not funny, being indeed ridiculous; when the execution of the heist is disclosed in the end, it is ludicrous; and the absurd plot itself is totally unbelievable and does not work. The direction is also very bad, with horrible and weird movements of camera. Steven Soderbergh began his career with exceptional works, but his last films are very deceptive ("Full Frontal"(2002); "Solaris"(2002)). My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Doze Homens e Outro Segredo" ("Twelve Men and Other Secret")

I think the cast had a better time on this one than the public has, or maybe I just hope so

[stamper · 6/10 · 4 January 2005]

I went to this movie, not expecting much. Actually I didn't even intend to go, since I thought it would be a crap movie, but you know how it is when a friend of yours wants to go to the movies with you. SOmetimes it's just hard to pick a movie. I had coincidentally seen quite a few cinematic releases recently, he doesn't like Jim Carrey (Series of unfortunate Events) and the rest of the films are even more unappealing than Ocean's Twelve (Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Alexander, The Grudge or some stupid dutch film like Floris). What do you do then? You settle for the lesser evil: Ocean's Twelve! Finally when you go to the cinema with expectations that low, you sometimes are surprised at how good the film actually is. Too bad Ocean's Twelve isn't one of them. I actually felt that the whole first hour of the film was pretty bad. It could have been much tighter, even in the beginning. I mean, why make the part with Benedict all so lengthy when god knows there are telephones and Danny Ocean is the leader. But that's not the main problem with this film. I mean while it is fun to see all the characters from the first film in action and the whole deal Julia Roberts in the hotel are well-meant the entire film has nothing of the adventure of the first. There is no excitement, no suspense, even no sexual tension between any of the characters.

I can see what the story is here, but it is just too elaborate and there are too many different set-up's. The whole thing is filmed in a very uninvolved and non-thrilling way, which is exasperated (I've seen Shaun of the dead as well!) by the fact that many to all of the heists and set-up's are revealed after they have already been made. Also: why set up another heist when you could set up Benedict again? The makers of the film clearly want to make you think they do it because they itch. Well make it clearer and more obvious to see. For I do not believe it after seeing this film.

When criticizing this movie, one has to include the cast and I must say that overall I was pretty disappointed with it. George Clooney didn't have any charisma this time around as Danny 'smooth operator' Ocean , Andy Garcia wasn't quite mean enough, I can't figure out why Bernie Mac was in the film and as already mentioned. So far as to doing you job badly. The rest of the cast was only mediocre, with the exception of Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts who did OK. Considering Vincent Cassel, I just thought he was miscast and the entire character structure was crap. I mean an adversary to THE GANG should have been much different than the character he played and his whole scheme and and his whole set-up could have been much more believable. No matter how mediocre I thought the acting was, it is not my intention to slam the actors here, for much of the blame can be allocated to the writers and the director.

Is there nothing good then here? Well, of course there are some nice moments in the film and it makes you smile at times. Of course it isn't a total snooze-fest and not utterly boring, but it compared to it's predecessor it really is A LOT worse. I'd actually given this one only a 5 out of 10, but because of some nice bits and that tad of charme that shine through at times I'll be gentle this time.

6 out of 10

post scriptum: please no Ocean's 13 or Ocean's 10 / Ocean's 9 (after one or two members of the crew have been kidnapped

I BEG YOU !!!!!!!!!!

Note: this review has been amended to remove some sexist comments I included at the time. Apologies for any offence caused. I was young and stupid at the time, thinking I was being 'cool'.

Self-referential: see "self-referential"

[John K.-2 · 8/10 · 25 January 2005]

Ocean's Twelve works for me because it's self-referential; in other words, it plants its tongue firmly in its cheek, and scatters references through the film to the real life people/situations behind the film. I can't tell you how without bringing down the wrath of the IMDb spoiler police on my head, but let's say that if you enjoy Hitchcock cameos or the humour of films such as Star Trek IV ("Computer? Computer!"), you should like this one.

It's also refreshing to see a film that treats Europe as being more than Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower and the Colosseum. I actually watched it in Rome, one of the locations used in the film, and not a single ancient ruin appeared (apart from George Clooney ;->); indeed, the opening scene of a line of cars all sounding their horns was familiar enough to send a laugh around the Roman audience.

There were one or two plot oddities that'll probably show up in the IMDb goofs section (Arsenal FC going from Amsterdam to Barcelona?! By bus?!) but overall, a good night out.

Actually a little disappointing

[danielmanson · 6/10 · 13 August 2021]

I decided to watch this not long after watching the first one. And I have to say I'm actually a little disappointed in this one. I really enjoyed the first so I had good expectations for this. And it backfired on me.

So I want to start by saying it's not a bad film by any stretch. But, in comparison to what it could have been it's not great either. So my main issue with this is quite simply the writing. I just don't think it flowed well enough and the pace of the film was generally pretty slow throughout.

This film lacked that "wow" factor that the first film had as well. We got to witness this whole heist go down and that's what made everything fall into place and it's what made that film great. But, you don't get that this time round and the "heist" is incredibly underwhelming. I found the characters a little underwhelming also. The first film introduced them really well and they all illustrated certain quirks. This film really didn't show any of that anymore and some characters I genuinely forgot about mid film, because they were so spaced out and simply 'not there'.

A problem I had with the first instalment is that they tried including a romance storyline line and it just didn't really work. Nor did I care for it. And this went down the same route. I just don't think these kind of storylines are really needed for the type of film that it is.

But yeah, I'm just disappointed if anything. I really enjoyed the first and this in comparison is a let down. Like I mentioned before it's not a terrible movie. But there's a lot of room for improvement. It's got me nervous to watch the third film now.

Lazy and convoluted sequel, saved by the stellar playing of the cast and the efficient direction

[TheLittleSongbird · 4/10 · 15 January 2010]

I enjoyed Oceans 11, I thought it was quite enjoyable, helped by the performances and the direction. However, I was disappointed with this film. Don't get me wrong, it is not a complete dud, thanks to the stellar performances from Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, George Clooney and Matt Damon especially and the efficient direction from Steven Soderbergh. However, the film really does suffer from truly lethargic pacing, some of the film was so slow I almost fell asleep between one key twist. Second, the plot is very convoluted and there are many twists and turns that makes it hard to keep up. The camera work wasn't as innovative as it was in the first movie either. Whereas in the first movie, it was smooth and professional, it was jerky and awkward here, and the music wasn't particularly memorable. The screenplay also wasn't as witty or as fun, and the film felt anti-climatic. At the end of the day it all felt a bit too lazy, despite the expert playing and direction. So much potential, but really a missed opportunity. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Lazy sequel that insults not only the audience, but everyone involved in the movie.

[Son_of_Mansfield · 6/10 · 16 April 2005]

The scene between Danny, Rusty, Linus, and Matsui where Danny and Rusty laugh uncomfortably at Matsui's gibberish joke says it all. Everyone in this movie expected us to enjoy whatever was put in front of us, because this is just a "safe picture", as Matt Damon's boyfriend would say would say. So, what went wrong? There are so many obvious in-jokes, cheap jokes, leaps of logic that even die hard Ocean's Eleven fans should feel cheated. The f**k scene with Basher is a good example of the sledgehammer type of joking this movie expects us to swallow graciously. These stars think that we are so involved with them that all they need to do is show us that they can make fun of themselves. I don't know the name of Julia Roberts' daughter; and I don't care. All those scenes with Julia Roberts and Bruce Willis are painful in their smugness. This movie feels like a bunch of friends got together and decided, on a whim, to make a movie. Steven Soderbergh should get full marks for making Ocean's Eleven work and full blame for this sequel. He should have told everyone to work first and play second.

Lacks The Freshness Of The Original And Doesn't Add Anything Of Substance

[CinemaClown · 8 September 2017]

Lacking the freshness of the original and going a bit overboard with its twists n turns, the follow-up chapter to Ocean's Eleven does exhibit the lavish look & carefree vibe of its predecessor and adds a couple more charismatic actors to its ensemble but its story is weak and only gets messier as it progresses.

Taking place some time after the events of the previous film, Ocean's Twelve brings back all the members of the original team as they battle against time to pay back all the money they stole from the owner of Las Vegas casinos, with interest. To meet the demand, they decide to pull off another heist, however, there's a new player in town.

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the film picks up from where it left off in the last picture and doesn't take long to bring all of them back into the same room. The basic storyline is interesting but how the events unfold in the final print is where the problem arises, not to mention that the subplots relating to new characters don't add anything of significance.

The sumptuous look n feel is retained and the European scenery is beautifully photographed. The smart manoeuvring of camera & refined use of colour palette adds a vibrant quality to its images. Editing is a mixed bag, however, as the numerous twists don't carry the same weight and appears forced into the narrative. And the background score doesn't have anything new to add either.

Coming to the performances, pretty much the entire cast of Ocean's Eleven make their appearance in this one with Clooney & Pitt leading the pack like before while the new additions include Vincent Cassel & Catherine Zeta-Jones who play their part responsibly but their respective characters are very poorly sketched. Roberts however gets additional screen time and is able to improve on her earlier input.

On an overall scale, Ocean's Twelve is an inferior sequel by all means that does take the arcs of its characters a little forward but doesn't add anything of substance. What's also disappointing is the climax that's far more ridiculous this time and seems way far-fetched than it did the last time. Still, there's some fun, laughs & amusement in store but if you're expecting a sequel that improves upon the original, then Ocean's Twelve isn't one of those.

Too clever for it's own good.

[stevetseitz · 6/10 · 12 December 2004]

A heist movie works on the premise that the audience is in on the heist. We dread the incredible security measures. We get to see the planning and the development. We marvel at the skills of each expert. We experience the same suspense and drama as the characters. Ocean's Twelve discards all these elements in favor of creative editing, avant garde camera work and superficial writing. It tries to extract great performances from so-so actors. O.K. so they all are beautiful people. That doesn't mean they are automatically the best actors. It doesn't mean that they can carry a film on their performances. Clooney and Pitt are no Newman and Redford. The acting talents of Catherince Zeta-Jones have never been anything to write home about. Only Finney in a tiny cameo draws any real emotion from the audience.

The best heist movies have real suspense. This film has none. The outcome is never in doubt. No matter how the surface of the plan is seemingly foiled...everyone is in on the far deeper "actual" plan.

On major problem is Garcia's character.

If the original "11" successfully pulled off the job we are made to believe they did in the first film, they wouldn't panic and crumble like a house of cards to Benedict's pressure and scare tactics. In fact, once a member of the cadre had been contacted, survelliance would have captured Benedict's strong arm tactics and bellicose threats immediately. The man would have legal challenges beyond belief.

It's not enough to know who robbed you. You must have proof, otherwise the worst threats would be a laughing matter for seasoned pros.

Twelve is just so much lazier than Eleven.

[matthewssilverhammer · 7/10 · 20 June 2018]

Instead of giving of us well-thought-out & cleverly written explanations for how things happen or why people tick, it shows us the bare minimum, hoping to glide by on its coolness. It doesn't quite work. Everything that's good here (performances, dialogue, music, characters) is either as good or better in the first, & everything that's bad here (emotional connections, heists, villains, general freshness) is done well in the first. Fun at times, but mostly a cheap imitation.

Too disjointed story structure. Tried to be too smart. Never equalled the brilliance of the original.

[imseeg · 7/10 · 10 February 2020]

They tried to make a great sequel and they failed. BUT nevertheless it is still a mildly enjoyable heist movie, despite being less good than the original Ocean's Eleven, which was absolutely brilliant.

The bad: too disjointed story structure. The story basically is a mess and almost incomprehensible and quite silly near the end. There are simply too many scenes that dont add anything to the story. There are 2 villains now instead of one. There are 2 romances now instead of 1. There are 2 heists now instead of 1. Double cross upon double cross. They multiplied everything, they added things and added even more things on top of that, but that made the story only more chaotic and less coherent. What a mess...

The good: judged by each of the scenes individually, they are often still quite funny and well acted by terrific actors. I mean, what a dream cast of stars! Lots of good tongue in cheek jokes can still be heard.

I would still NOT recommend it to anyone, unless you wanna pass the time and you have nothing better to watch...Simply watch the original again, because the original is heavenly and brilliant, everything the sequel is NOT. NOT.

Good follow-up

[briancham1994 · 7/10 · 2 June 2020]

It's not as great as the original, but it still features all the things that made it good - interesting plots, enticing story and cool characters. Good fun that takes you along for a ride.

The Best Ocean's movie

[Criticalstaff · 8/10 · 31 May 2020]

This movie is quite fun. A surprise to be sure but a welcome one. It is not quite a heist movie; it is rather a comedy on the previous heist movie.

So to put things into perspective, when the Oceans Trilogy was done the consensus was that 11 was an instant cult-classic, 12 was a weird disappointment and 13 a highly welcomed return to the roots. As in many cases (Alien 4 or Ang Lee's Hulk, Starship Troopers) sometimes everybody is wrong and only later we rediscover how beautiful, poignant or visionary certain art can be. I am re-watching the series more than a decade later and I am surprised how wrong the zeitgeist was. 11 is very dated, 13 is pure garbage and 12 is actually not bad.

Oceans Twelve is actually the diamond in the rough. The forgotten gem. The overlooked ugly duckling of the trilogy(universe). I low-key love this movie. It is not perfect, it is not the best movie ever. But especially after watching Ocean Eleven, this movie was so refreshing, funny, original and interesting. It is not surprising on paper : Oceans Twelve enjoys doing the opposite of 11. I think it adds to the quality of the film, Twelve is fairly meta and loves no to take things too seriously. That is already the case in 11, and it bothered me. Because there was no reason these character acted so nonchalantly. The charm was not earned. The characters were not caricatures, they were played straight. They were the best and the coolest not by doing anything but just by being there. They had all the skills and they were the best at them. In this movie the main characters Clooney and Pitt are acknowledged to not have any skill whatsoever. In this movie, they are plain assholes. And it is great. Of course it is intended to be ironic, but I think it works towards the film. In that regard the movie is rightfully the sequel of 11, where Clooney and Pitt do something that they think is clever but that is not in reality. In addition, the irony that the film wants to convey is not aimed towards Danny Ocean and Rusty, the characters or the plot; but it is towards Clooney and Pitt themselves. How funny the films thinks it is when Pitt and Clooney watch Oprah on the couch, while trying to fall asleep. The film involuntarily builds its characters through these inside jokes. And of course it is bad. But it is so bad it's good. Same with the scene Matt Damon asking for a bigger role, same with the Julia Roberts as Julia Roberts cameo. This film works because it is an inversion of the first movie. You see Clooney and Roberts actually interact here, they have affection, they have a secret code, we get why they are together. Pitt plays Rusty as a suave seducer, which is hiding how clueless he is, we get an understanding of his characters because we see his failings. Everybody plays a caricature of themselves, and it works because the movie is in on it. The movie does not understand why it is funny, but we do. My favorite scene is when Matt Damon takes a moment to ask if we should make fun of a handicapped person, and everybody shoots him down. I loved it because the movie then proceeds to go with it anyway. My enjoyment of this movie comes in larger part from the contrast with the first one. However the movie also tries in many ways to subvert the heist movie tropes. Again that is why this one is more watchable 20 years later. The heist in this movie is basically an anti-heist. And I don't really mind. Ocean 11 also at its core did not care for the heist, which made me ask to myself why the audience should. Here the movie does not care and we should not care. Here the movie is pure charm; you get to spend 2h in travelling through Europe with the gang. That is it. This is just a big excuse to spend some time with these guys. And it is actually enjoyable, because the locations are cool and exotic and not fake with the veneer of luxury, the music is cool and not recycled, and characters seem genuine and not artificial. The first movie spent actually a lot of effort to try to not take things too seriously. Twelve actually does take things less seriously. And this were you find the reason why people hated it. It builds on the first movie, but it goes resolutely against the grain. On purpose. So it is at the same time the best sequel, because it takes the first movie at face value and asks what do these characters do after they've executed the biggest heist ever. And for someone looking to have the same movie as the last time, it is the worst sequel. You could throw the whole Oceans trilogy in the garbage if wasn't for this movie, that is why it is hands down the best Ocean's movie.

Posted : This movie is quite fun. A surprise to be sure but a welcome one. It is not quite a heist movie; it is rather a comedy on the previous heist movie.

To put things into perspective, when the Oceans Trilogy was done the consensus was that 11 was an instant cult-classic, 12 was a weird disappointment and 13 a highly welcomed return to the roots. As in many cases (Alien 4 or Ang Lee's Hulk, Starship Troopers) sometimes everybody is wrong and only later we rediscover how beautiful, poignant or visionary certain art can be.

I am re-watching the series more than a decade later and I am surprised how wrong the zeitgeist was. 11 is very dated, 13 is pure garbage and 12 is actually not bad.

Oceans Twelve is actually the diamond in the rough. The forgotten gem. The overlooked ugly duckling of the trilogy(universe). I low-key love this movie. It is not perfect, it is not the best movie ever. But especially after watching Ocean Eleven, this movie was so refreshing, funny, original and interesting.

It is not surprising on paper : Oceans Twelve enjoys doing the opposite of 11. I think it adds to the quality of the film, Twelve is fairly meta and loves not to take things too seriously. That is already the case in 11, and it bothered me. Because there was no reason these character acted so nonchalantly. The charm was not earned. The characters were not caricatures, they were played straight. They were the best and the coolest not by doing anything but just by being there. They had all the skills and they were the best at them.

In this movie the main characters Clooney and Pitt are acknowledged to not have any skill whatsoever. In this movie, they are plain assholes. And it is great. Of course it is intended to be ironic, but it works towards the film. In that regard the movie is rightfully the sequel of 11, where Clooney and Pitt do something that they think is clever but it is not in reality. In addition, the irony that the film wants to convey is not aimed towards Danny Ocean and Rusty, the characters or the plot; but it is towards Clooney and Pitt themselves. How funny the films thinks it is when Pitt and Clooney watch Happy Days on the couch, while trying to fall asleep. The film involuntarily builds its characters through these inside jokes. And of course it is bad. But it is so bad it's good. Same with the scene Matt Damon asking for a bigger role, same with the Julia Roberts as Julia Roberts cameo.

This film works because it is an inversion of the first movie. You see Clooney and Roberts actually interact here, they have affection, they have a secret code, we get why they are together. Pitt plays Rusty as a suave seducer, which is hiding how clueless he is, we get an understanding of his characters because we see his failings. Everybody plays a caricature of themselves, and it works because the movie is in on it. The movie may not even understand why it is funny, but we do. My favorite scene is when Matt Damon takes a moment to ask if we should make fun of a handicapped person, and everybody shoots him down. I loved it because the movie then proceeds to go with it anyway.

My enjoyment of this movie comes in larger part from the contrast with the first one. However the movie also tries in many ways to subvert the heist movie tropes. Again that is why this one is more watchable 20 years later. The heist in this movie is basically an anti-heist. And I don't really mind. Ocean 11 also at the core did not care for the heist, which made me ask to myself why the audience should. Here the movie does not care and we should not care. Here the movie is pure charm; you get to spend 2h in travelling through Europe with the gang. That is it. This is just a big excuse to spend some time with these guys. And that is actually enjoyable, because the locations are cool and exotic and not fake with the veneer of luxury, the music is cool and not recycled, and characters seem genuine and not artificial.

The first movie spent actually a lot of effort to try to not take things too seriously. Twelve actually does take things less seriously. And this were you find the reason why people hated it. It builds on the first movie, but it goes resolutely against the grain. On purpose. So it is at the same time the best sequel, because it takes the first movie at face value and asks what do these characters do after they've executed the biggest heist ever. And for someone looking to have the same movie as the last time, it is the worst sequel. You could throw the whole Oceans trilogy in the garbage if wasn't for this movie, that is why it is hands down the best Ocean's movie.

Cool

[bevo-13678 · 10/10 · 1 April 2020]

The best of all the oceans movies. I like the dancing bit with the lasers

Nothing like the original

[iohefy-2 · 6/10 · 23 December 2004]

It has been some time since I saw Oceans 11, and I really enjoyed it. When I heard that Oceans 12 was coming I was really looking forward to seeing the movie. Well I went to the sneak preview here in Charlotte, and to say that I was disappointed is mild. It would seem that when a second version of a story comes out it is no where as good as the original. They certainly had the stars to draw people into the movie, like Brad Pitt, George Clooney,Julia Roberts and the addition of Catherine Zeta Jones. These stars did nothing to help with a weak story. This is another on a long list of "wait for the video to come out" you will save the price of admission

My brief review of the film

[sol- · 7/10 · 12 March 2006]

While there are enough reasons for one to have reservations about calling this a great film, I must admit that I still found it quite decent entertainment. Soderbergh keeps it well paced and entertaining on a visual level, even with some overly shaky photography and awkward freeze frames, plus there is a great plot twist involving Julia Roberts and Bruce Willis later in the film. The best aspect of this crime caper though is Catherine Zeta-Jones, who adds a lot of sparks and a fresh streak to the material. Yes, the film has its downfalls, such as the plot, which is mostly a series of incidents that only work because one does not know what will happen next, and such as Andy Garcia's cardboard acting. The film lacks much depth and does not execute the buddy-buddy aspect as well as the first film did; however it is kind of fun in its own way: mindless amusement with some great visuals, a twisted plot, and credible acting by Zeta-Jones. No, it is not as good as one would expect with Soderbergh at the helm, but neither is it all that bad.

Not good enough like the first one

[SafReviews · 6/10 · 11 March 2019]

This movie tries to make the heist more realistic and complex than the one in Ocean's 11, but it fails. In doing so, they made the movie less intriguing and confusing at times. This movie definitely has more funny moments than Ocean's 11, but that doesn't matter as it's not like it is a comedy movie. I see what they was trying to which was to make the heist look less easy, but it just lacked the thrill.

Mixed

[kermitkid · 7/10 · 31 March 2020]

People are going to hate me for saying this, but I didn't think it was bad. It wasn't as good as the first one, but I still enjoyed it. There are some awkward moments of stilted dialogue and awkward pauses, and at times the plot can be hard to understand, and there is way too much dialogue that really just builds up to nothing. But there were still some moments I found fun. The moments of metahumor and self awareness towards the second half of the film made me laugh, there were still some good action moments. It just wasn't as investing as the first one. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't great. Grade: C 7/10 3/5 stars

Ocean's Twelve, sub-par to Eleven, but great for what it is

[reneweddan · 10/10 · 26 September 2010]

Sure, this movie wasn't as good as the prequel, but it is great for what it is... a comedic heist film with the best cast ever.

This movie lives up to the star power shown in Ocean's Eleven, but it has a different twist of humour. Those who are heavily criticizing this film should relax, it's not meant to be a film that deserves high praise, but it shouldn't be under scrutiny for being what it is... a feel-good film.

What I highly enjoy about the Ocean's Trilogy is being able to watch a film that brings together great talent, some of the biggest names of my own generation, and watching them in a comedic heist film that deserves some popcorn and laughs.

This movie is highly underrated, not because of how great the storyline is, but because of how great the entire package is.

Enjoy it for what it is.

Whadda mess!

[=G= · 6/10 · 18 April 2005]

"Ocean's Twelve" wastes a stellar cast and great locations on a poor follow up to "Ocean's Eleven" (2001). A step down for Soderbergh, this film is another caper flick which finds Danny Ocean (Clooney) reassembling his crew for another heist to pay off the debt due from the previous film's heist. In this convoluted mess, our hero not only has to outwit the police but also pit himself against the world's greatest thief. A messy conglomeration of the same elements which made the 2001 flick entertaining, "Ocean's Twelve" simply tries too hard to do too much with too little time resulting a bad case of sequelitis. Only for those who went nuts over the first film, this flick is best saved for a freebee TV watch. (B-)

weird chemistry

[feelinglistless · 10/10 · 28 August 2005]

There are certain times at the cinema when it slowly becomes clear that you're the only person who is loving the film. A weird chemistry occurs in which your enjoyment of the evening is diametrically opposed to everyone elses. And so it was tonight during Ocean's Twelve. It really isn't the film anyone was expecting, but that actually means is so much better. If you're a fan of the first film because of all the heist hijinks you'll probably hate this. If you're a fan of Steven Soderbergh and seen all of his films, you'll just love it.

I don't want to talk about the plot here because frankly you wouldn't believe me. Just when you think the film is going to settle down into some kind of recognisable rhythm, something entirely unexpected is thrown in turning everything on it's head. You know the moment at the end of the first film when everything you thought you saw turned out to be something different? Pretty much every scene here is like that. Which is probably were I and nearly all the mean spirited reviews I've read part company. The general feeling seems to be that the plot was thrown together and the story lacks structure. Well yes that's the point. Soderbergh's messing about with what you're allowed to do in a so-called typical Hollywood sequel. It's experimental rather than erratic.

I'll admit to a degree that is a greatest hits of Soderbergh's greatest hits, with a variety of film stock and messy camera angles on display. Flashbacks are in full evidence as are the freeze frames and captions in multiple fonts. But so what? Would it have been better if some hack had been hired to trot out a clone of the first film, clinically perfect without any passion? He should be applauded for not making the same movie again, opting instead for something which resembles his own Full Frontal, with obscure film in-jokes intact. Go with an open mind and a clear heart.

Has its moments, but overall it was a bit too much (though I liked it better on repeat viewings)

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 11 December 2004]

...Steven Soderbergh, with his cast returning (and then some) from the first film, can create results that show how talented they are. Ocean's Eleven was a fun, fresh kind of heist picture, that worked off a good story on good characters, and had enough wit with comedy to balance out the more dramatic elements. Ocean's Twelve, on the other hand, juggles with the story like Tarantino on whip-its. I understood the premise pretty well from the trailers (Benedict, played by Garcia, wants all of his money back, or all eleven will be dead, so they high-tail it to Europe for a couple of prime heists). What sometimes boggled me were how the double crosses were handled, or how certain character knew others and so on and so forth. Adding to this confusion- or rather, not so much confusion as not really investing much interest in the story- Soderbergh fuses the film with his camera-work that is stylish, but overly so. It's one thing to be expressive with the camera, as Soderbergh can be (Traffic works very well off of the hand-held usage and filters). It's another thing to draw attention to the technical side while the story jump-ropes.

On top of this, the actors, while sometimes on the money (in particular Vincent Cassell in what could be his American breakthrough role as the "night-fox"), can also be a little too thin to deal with. I understand it's a silly caper comedy, but I should be able to invest my emotions with these people, and about two-thirds into the movie I didn't care much about them. Take Catherine Zeta-Jones' character, playing a cop who once had a fling with Rusty (Pitt). Are we supposed to not like her, or like her, or kinda go back and forth. She's gorgeous to look at, but she's not given the kind of one-liners the others get. By the time the third act rolls around, the scenes seem like they've been filmed improv style (not a total downer), but without much coherence to where the story to go.

Basically, I knew I didn't totally despise Ocean's Twelve, however the sense of over-load made me say to myself a few times "ok, so what's the point?" I respect that the actors had fun making the film, as it is a lot better than being miserable through the shoot. But when it starts to distract from the focus of the scenes there's trouble (I could see smirks on them in some scenes where they could of had more of a better grip on what was really going on). Now, this is not to say I don't enjoy it when a director implements a crazy kind of style- Kill Bill vol. 1 is a triumph for that very reason- as long as it doesn't try and compensate for something wrong with the material. To put it another way, Ocean's Twelve is like an art-film that's struggling to break away from the hackneyed, conventional Hollywood 'hip' kind of standard, and the result is an equal amount of boredom, fascination, and slight indifference. There's also a sweet, if occasionally tiresome, jazz score that rings of 70's TV. C+ (6/10)

This is a below average second installment with again star-studded and a ridiculous screenplay

[ma-cortes · 3/10 · 12 February 2005]

The movie centers at a new heist with Oceans's eleven but this time in Europe . The group is the same : Clooney , Pitt , Cheadle, Matt Damon, Scott Cahan, Carl Reiner.. They are blackmailed by Andy Garcia who tries to retrieve the money stolen from previous film . They are pursued by a clever and gorgeous Inspector , Catherine Zeta Jones , Brad Pitt's sweetheart .

This thrilling as well as hilarious hold-up film displays a twisted caper from the beginning to ending , comedy , turns , along with limited action of varied manner . It is starred by a famous group of Hollywood stars and several cameos who give lousy performances . The actors playing the leading roles all knew each other well and improvised dialogue as well as or better than the script . The comic relief being developed during the amusing relationship between the several and motley characters and their jokes among them . It has got an average screenplay and an usual final surprise . The film is developed in European scenarios : Ámsterdam , Roma , lagoon Como (where Clooney has got a mansion), but in spite of these marvelous places , there are barely outdoors . The picture is very boring and tiring , is slow-moving , there aren't action-packed , neither emotion , nor humor or suspense and a little intrigue . The first part of the series was an amusing yarn ,it had an exciting as well as surprising hold-up , here the heist is a manuscript only , the museum burglar results to be a disaster . However , the motion picture obtained success such as the previous ones ; in spite of , it turn out to be a bit dull and dreary . The movie is made for George Clooney and his friends , he's the host and main architect of the movie ; because living in ¨Como¨(Italy) where is shot part of the scenarios and the picture has been produced by Steven Soderbergh and the same Clooney.

Actors's interpretation is nefarious and awful : Brad Pitt does as Brad Pitt , and specially : Bruce Willis plays as Willis and Julia Roberts plays as Julia Roberts . Atmospheric musical score by saga ordinary , David Holmes . Colorful cinematography with luxurious interior scenarios , nicely photographed by the same , as usual, Soderbergh . Steven Soderbergh direction is mediocre , being lavishly produced by the ordinary ,Jerry Weintraub . The first part ¨Ocean's Eleven¨(2001) is much better than its sequels , being followed by ¨Ocean's thirteen¨ (2007) and with similar cast , technician team and direction . The flick will appeal to Ceorge Clooney and Brad Pitt fans. Rating: nearly to classify as turkey .