Oceans 12

Having set up the different dynamics which hold the ultra-cool Ocean team together, the second outing for these guys has more time to let their hair down and have some fun.

The opening is much the same with short pieces bringing the viewer up to date on each person’s whereabouts. Unfortunately, it’s Andy Garcia who rounds them up, the casino owner whose vault was emptied in “Oceans 11.”

Subsequently, Danny and his cohorts are given two weeks to return the money with interest…lots of interest. They need to cough up about a zillion dollars, so they devise yet another master scheme. This leads them to Amsterdam where they plan to steal a very valuable Faberge egg.

Everybody has their expertise in this story and they all get a chance to show off for the boss. The crew is kept guessing along with the audience until we have to be shown what really happened. I’m not sure I understand all the ins and outs of this caper, but it was fun to ride along.

Julia Roberts has a better role in this one because she gets dragged into the whole mess and provides one of the funniest scenes when she has to play herself. It sounds crazy, but she looks just like Julia Roberts!

For good measure, another master thief is thrown into the mix to challenge Ocean and generally mess things up even more. It becomes an “I’m a better criminal than you are!” contest, and of course, everyone roots for George Clooney.

I liked this second caper better than the first because the characters were more fun. In the first film, they seemed too preoccupied with getting the job done. Here, they have a good time and the viewers do too.

I can’t help but wonder what these guys could do with their myriad talents if they went legitimate. They have imagination and skill and plenty of personality. It’s too bad they use it to just dig themselves out of a hole and save themselves from the wrath of Andy Garcia. Crime was never this much fun though and the criminals never looked this good doing it. Should we admire them, fear them, or just be plain jealous?