The merry men of the “Ocean’s” series are back and as good as ever in the newest installment, “Ocean’s Thirteen.”

The film takes us back to where it all started, Sin City itself. Danny Ocean (George Clooney), his right hand man Rusty (Brad Pitt) and the rest of the gang are together again in Las Vegas after their latest romp abroad, and this time they are convening for a whole new reason.

When one of their own, Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), teams up with casino king Willy Banks (Al Pacino) in a deal to build a new hotel, he boasts that Banks will do something he isn’t known for: remain loyal. That isn’t what Banks had in mind however, and, after being cut out of the deal, Reuben suffers a massive heart attack.

And what’s the lesson Banks needs to learn in all of this? When you mess with one of Ocean’s ever-expanding gang, you mess with all of them. Danny and his pals vow to get revenge for what Banks did to Reuben by casting a dark cloud over the grand opening night of Banks’ new hotel and casino. In the process they realize they need the financial help of their old rival, Terry Benedict. Benedict is so excited by the prospect of bringing down his nemesis Banks that he agrees to help - with a few stipulations of course.

While “Ocean’s Twelve” was nowhere near as good as “Ocean’s Eleven,” I’ll admit that I liked it anyway because I could see what a good time they had while making it, and that made it fun for me to watch. “Ocean’s Thirteen” combines this fun feeling and a fast paced plot, reminiscent of the first one, without simply rehashing the first adventure. It’s a fresh idea and delves a little more into the characters who we already know and love.

New this time around are Pacino and Ellen Barkin, who plays Pacino’s right hand woman. Pacino does what he does best playing the old man who is arrogant to a fault, and Barkin is good as the uber-efficient, if not a little pathetic, manager of all of her employer’s affairs.

Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Casey Affleck, Bernie Mac, Carl Reiner, Eddie Izzard (and the rest of the guys whose names you probably don’t remember but who are also great as members of Danny Ocean’s gang) flesh out the film with their various characters as well and yet again we get to see some fantastic costumes and false identities for the guys to pull off their plan.

“Ocean’s Thirteen” is the perfect summer movie. It’s exciting and entertaining, visually stunning and most important: it’s fun! All of the old characters we love, as well a few we love to hate, are back and completely in their comfort zone. This is what summer movies are all about, and as far as I’m concerned a must see.

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