Ocean's Thirteen - 8 stars out of 10

Ocean's Thirteen - 8 stars out of 10

I am so glad that "Ocean's Thirteen" brought back the integrity of this series after its predecessor was such a disappointment.  The redemption lies in the successful equation: ensemble cast of big name stars + clever dialogue + creative casino heist = smash hit!  Al Pacino steps into the spotlight as the detestible casino owner who goes back on his word as "a man who shook Sinatra's hand."  While there is very little character development, it is not an issue if you've seen "Ocean's Eleven."  It was criticized for its lack of character development, but do tv sitcomes redevelop their lead roles at the beginning of each new episode?  It doesn't paint as humorous of a portrait of the individults as in the first one, but new characters (like Pacino and Ellen Barkin) receive the development necessary to make them relevant to the plot.  I would've liked more development but do not fault the writers since this franchise is all about the story anyways.  My favorite role of the entire film is David Paymer, the unfortunate reviewer for the Five Diamond Award.  The film keeps the crew interesting by featuring some of the guys that received less screen time in the earlier editions of the Ocean's series (particularly Casey Affleck and Eddie Jemison).  You have to love the involvement of Andy Garcia (the victim in the first film) to aid the criminals this time around, and I honestly did not find myself missing Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones.  Matt Damon is hysterical - that nose is fantastic, and you've got to love his parents coming to the rescue again.  There isn't a mind-numbing twist like the first one, as the plan is straightforward from the start with a few little twists along the way, but it's still a genius heist that proves to be incredibly satisfying in the end.  No film could ever compete with "Ocean's Eleven," but this installment provides a lot of entertaining dialogue with that great Steven Soderbergh style and a logical heist whose only fault is that it doesn't face any major dilemmas along the way.