July 12, 2005 |

OCEAN'S ELEVEN (2001)

Cliffnotes review:
Remakes are supposed to IMPROVE on the original.

This film goes to: 5
Rated (PG-13)
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia
Written by: George Clayton Johnson & Jack Golden Russell (1960 Story), Ted Griffen (2001 Screenplay)


116 minutes
Warner Bros.
2001
Official site

Remember high school? There was always at least one kid trying desperately to be cool and falling far short of the mark. The Mike Damone character (the slimily ticket scalper played by Robert Romanus) in "Fast Times of Ridgemont High" comes to mind. Well, Steven Soderbergh has managed to find his high school roots and become that too-cool kid in the remake of "Ocean's Eleven".

Based on the premise of the 1960 Rat Pack film of the same name, the 2001 version features the new-school-cool of George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts and Andy Garcia among others. Most performances are phoned-in (Clooney does a very good Clooney as the title character Danny Ocean, for example) but at the very least, the new version sets itself apart from the original in two ways: the actors are all actually actors and they do not all appear to be battling hangovers in every take.

"Ocean's Eleven" is the story of the biggest heist in Vegas history. Freshly out of prison, Danny Ocean teams up with Dusty Ryan (Pitt) to knock over three of Vegas' largest casinos at one time. Coincidentally (or not so, it seems), all are owned by Terrence Benedict (Garcia) who is now dating Ocean's ex-wife Tess (Roberts) and conveniently, all utilize the same vault thus making one of the only interesting elements of the original (forming a team that could hit three separate casinos at one time) moot.

Suspension of disbelief is one of the chief goals in filmmaking and Soderbergh has done little to promote the success of this central tenant in "Ocean's Eleven". The set-up comes all too quickly. Team members are assembled, trained and ready to go in less than two weeks. Pitt's character has no less than three completely improbable costume changes in the final 5 minutes. That anyone would vie that desperately for Roberts' affection is simply beyond me (I may be one of a handful of people who feels that Benjamin Bratt had the right idea when dumping Julia). The film really lost me when Basher Tarr (played with a slightly annoying Cockney accent by Don Cheadle) switches gears and determines that a specialized explosive device is needed in order to even attempt the job. Fortunately one is easily found at the University of California and secured just in time for the hit (thanks to virtually catatonic security guards who simply watch as our team of thieves wander off with the rather large device).

The only character that displays even the most remote semblance of development is played convincingly (as much as I hate to say it) by Matt Damon. As pickpocket Linus Caldwell, Damon conveys well the feeling that his character is a little over his head and a lot unsure whether he wants to be in the position he has chosen. Genuine nervousness and youth are well crafted by Damon. If this isn't a sad endorsement for a film, I don't know what is.

The original "Ocean's Eleven" was certainly not a testament to fine filmmaking but at the very least had a trick ending that defied convention. Soderbergh uses an all-star cast and over-saturated, grainy film effects in his remake to hammer his cooler-than-thou point home but loses much in the Hollywoodized ending that robs what little impact the original offered. Sometimes, it seems, cool is merely insecurity lumped into a pretty package.

Thoughtful strategy. Practical execution.

Clear thinking, honest perspectives, and experience shaped by years of doing the work. No shortcuts, no borrowed opinions, just lessons learned by showing up, solving problems, and following ideas all the way through.

Four hikers with backpacks walking along a rocky mountain ridge under a blue sky
May 8, 2026
We are each our own greatest inhibitor. People don’t want to do new things if they think they’re going to be bad at them or people are going to laugh at them. You have to be willing to subject yourself to failure, to be bad, to fall on your head and do it again, and try stuff that you’ve never done in order to be the best you can be. ~ Laird Hamilton Yesterday: Hit Range Balls/Hike – Casa del Critters, 1:15 Today: Run – GGCSP, ~2 hours Tomorrow: Ride – Somewhere singlespeedy, ~2 hours Yesterday, Rach and I took a nice stroll in the woods around our house. The songbirds were going crazy-nuts and surprisingly, we only saw one other person walking his dog. I love where we live – close proximity to fun trails and the ability to get away from it all in just a short walk from our house. During lunch yesterday, I went to the driving range to get a few cuts in before playing a round of golf with my dad next week. I don’t get to play very often so need to brush up on my skills (or lack thereof) whenever I can. I am looking forward to playing with my pops and hope to break 100. I shot a 102 the last time I played so I am within striking distance of the sub-triple-digit score. We’ll see how things go. I usually do okay for most of the round and then fall apart on a couple of holes pushing my score way up. Dad shoots in the low 80s usually (I think). I am not sure I will ever play enough to be that good but it is fun to get out on the course now and again. I also went to see Dr. Paul yesterday for my ankle problem (which seems to have been resolved) and my knee (which is still a bit swollen but has decreased in size markedly over the past several days). The knee stems from my unscheduled nose-dive back in May (see this post for details). The shot some pictures and believe that everything is a-ok so that was good news. I just need to select better places for splashdowns in the future. And today is Luke’s birthday. Age is one place where I will always beat him but visit his blog to congratulate him on trying to catch up. Until next time…
Runner silhouetted at sunset on a rocky trail, mid-stride between hills.
May 8, 2026
Progress comes from the intelligent use of experience. ~ Elbert Hubbard Yesterday: Run – Casa del Critters/Flume, 1 hour 15 minutes Today: Ride/Hike/Relax Tomorrow: Run/Hike – Pawnee/Buchanan Passes, 6 hours? Yesterday I ran around the house. Not literally, mind you, but in the neighborhood. It was a gorgeous evening – calm, cool. Perfect. The wildflowers are really starting to take off up here and I was treated with a bold display of color throughout my run. Tons of Columbine lined the trailside as I ran on old mining roads and singletrack trails. It is really fun to see how much differently I am able to handle familiar terrain. I used to have difficulties running this loop and would have to walk major sections. Last night, I ran the entire loop without trouble and was able to moderate my speed to maintain a steady cadence through the run. Good times. Contracting is staying steady. A bit of a drop-off this week given the holiday but I am still managing to put in a decent number of hours. I picked up another new project today and will need to get started immediately to ensure that it gets completed on time.  Tomorrow, we are going to head up Pawnee Pass and loop back around to Buchanan Pass in the northern Indian Peaks Wilderness. This should be a fun challenge as we’ll get up pretty high, have to navigate some snow (most likely) and will be out for quite awhile. I am looking forward to it for sure . Movie time: I forgot to mention Shopgirl, a Steve Martin vehicle, we watched the other night. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but found this to be a charming film about loneliness. It was well acted and would recommend it for sure. The pacing is steady throughout and some might find it a little on the slow side but it was an engaging film that had a lot to say without being overly sappy.
Hands holding a tablet displaying a video player interface. The video is paused.
February 20, 2026
In case you hadn’t seen these (and also for my friends at Adventure Film ), here are a couple of must-see running movies from Joel Wolpert:  Geoff Roes: Slogging to the Top