Ocean's Twelve (2004) - 8/10

The randomizer doesn't respect proper order of things, but I will humor it by jumping ahead to the second Ocean's movie. This is a film that has grown on me a lot over time. I absolutely love the first film, but was not a fan of this sequel at its release. I think it was largely due to not feeling sold on the 'big twist' of the heist and feeling like I was just lied to all along. Twists, which I've talked about before, won't really land if you don't lay the groundwork adequately for the audience. It can't just 'come out of nowhere', like it may seemingly do for Ocean's Twelve. With that said, time and re-watches have softened my stance because I have come to understand that this is not a heist movie like the first film - its a con movie. But let's just jump into the rubric. 

1. Acting 

I mean this is an outstanding cast of actors. There's no denying it. But, is there actually a lot of acting going on here? I'm obviously being flippant with that questions, yet for all the talent involved no one is really doing a ton of heavy lifting. Cheadle faking a bad accent is about the closest. Or maybe Topher Grace playing himself in the hotel scene. 

For the most part all this film really requires of its actors is a dry wit and great comedic timing. And that's honestly not a knock. I enjoy the performances here and am entertained throughout. But, lets not kid ourselves that this requires a lot of effort. The bulk of the work is honestly being done by people outside of the main cast like Vincent Cassel as the main antagonist and Albert Finney for all of his 60 seconds of screen time. 

And again, I really enjoy the Ocean's films - but with a gun to my head I might be able to name 15% of the characters' names. For the most part I just am watching George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, etc, etc, pretending to be characters. Yet, somehow that's completely fine. It doesn't really ruin anything for me. That may even be what they were poking fun at with the entire meta sequence of Tess pretending to be Julia Roberts. Like, it just doesn't matter for some reason. It's kind of impressive. 

2. Cinematography 

Steven Soderbergh is a very interesting cinematographer. On the whole, I enjoy his visual style. Yet, it tends to feel improvised and messy at times.  I guess that's the risk of using a lot of handheld shots because it can veer from looking very professional and thought out, to suddenly looking like an amateur walking around and shooting something on their phone. But, I have seen enough of his films to understand that is just the aesthetic he likes. He also likes the 'reality' of those shots and has talked about this specifically with lighting his scenes (or really complete lack thereof). 

As for Ocean's Twelve specifically, I really enjoyed the visuals and camera work. Sometimes it wild and clearly handheld, while at other points it is fluid and seamless steadicam and dolly shots. All of it, however, is visually appealing. In particular I love his use of tracking shots - both handheld and steadicam. Even right off the bat in the opener of the film there is a subtle but cool tracking shot of Rusty moving through various rooms of Isabel's apartment as if the camera was passing through the various walls. It is simple, but a really fun way to move the camera and character through the scene without needing to cut a bunch. 

As for the visuals - there seems to be a yellow color grading over almost the entire film. People can read a lot into color tints in film and the meaning they hold. Sometime they are right, other times it is just a stretch towards something not actually there. Ultimately, I can't say exactly why Soderbergh went with yellow in this particular case, but he has used color grading before to distinguish different times or places to help cue the audience into the scenes. For Ocean's Twelve, yellow may simply be a distinction that the film is taking place in Europe vice Las Vegas - more a general vibe than a specific deep meaning. Outside of the color grading, he also employs a more deliberate sepia or black and white color scheme to cue the audience into the various flashbacks or non-linear scenes within the story. Whatever the reasons or meanings are behind the color of the film, it works well and is visually engaging. 

3. Production/Costume Design 

 Most of the noticeable instances of high production quality come from the use of real world locations for shooting. It lends realism and authenticity to the whole endeavor and doubles as a fun backdrop for a more international heist adventure for the cast. The locations are beautiful and immersive and the history of Europe and art helps distinguish this film from the Las Vegas and cold hard cash original outing. 

4. Writing 

At its release Ocean's Twelve got a lot of grief from audiences/critics when compared to its predecessor and I think the writing had a lot to do with that. While Ocean's Eleven revolved mostly around a single heist and the problem solving the team had to do to pull it off, Twelve revolves around a few different heists and various twists and crosses used to execute them. That's why I contend that Twelve is more of a 'con' film then a 'heist' film. Isabel even alludes to the idea of how master thieves take part in 'long cons' during her speech at Europol. 

The idea of this being a 'con' film is also a subversion of audience expectations. If your first film is the crew stealing $100 million, then it would be incredibly boring to turn around and basically do the same thing in the sequel. The filmmakers even use Tolour to sell the fact that this is a fake heist film. The entire time he thinks he is setting the stakes for a competitive heist showdown. However, unbeknownst to Tolour and the audience, Danny and Rusty subvert those expectations and instead use an extremely simple ploy to steal the egg early, and then replace the 'heist' part of the third act with a 'con' of pretending to steal it. 

I expect that this whole 'twist' is why myself and most audience members did not enjoy Ocean's Twelve initially. The rug pull ending where you were basically lied to for the last third of the film make the whole outing feel a bit stupid. But again, I contend that this is not a heist film. You and the other characters in the film are being conned into believing that you know where the story is going. The fact that you got fooled is a little bit the point. Now, I only changed to this view more recently. Initial re-watches left me with the same empty feeling that my first viewing of the film brought. But as I have continued to stick with the film, I see more and more details that the filmmakers are trying to cue you into if you are paying attention. The problem is they are fairly subtle and its fairly impossible to pick up on them the first time through without knowing the ending. 

Apart from the plot of the film, the movie works really well as a comedy. The writing is very funny and the actors deadpan delivery of some of the lines hidden in the film are hilarious. I promise, even if you don't like the anti-heist nature of this movie, you should try to watch it with the lens of it being a workplace comedy. Some standout moments include the hilarious Matsui meeting, the opener with Brad Pitt in the bathroom, the conversations Danny and Rusty have without ever actually saying anything - all of it works and is where the cast shines most. 

5. Sound Design 

David Holmes returned to build the soundtrack for Twelve and I really enjoyed the effort. The score and use or other tracks feels like a much different approach than other films and fits perfectly into the movie. Music is also used as a star for some of the scenes. Tolour's laser grid scene in particular is fantastic moment of music and visuals creating something that is extremely memorable.  

6. Editing 

Soderbergh is known to spend his nights after shooting to start building edits at home. However, he also frequently works with Stephen Mirrione to craft the final products. The pair work well together and employ a lot of different editing techniques to give the film the slick visual feel it carries throughout its whole run time. Part of that slickness comes from frequent J&L cuts where music carries the audience to and from each scene and provides a sense of fast pace. Similarly, match cuts are used to transition between time and places to keep things constantly moving. The edit is also played for comedy at times. In the opener we get a few different cutaway gags where Isabel is describing how they are going to catch a thief (who just happens to be the person she is talking to) and then cutting or zooming into the various things she is describing. It's both funny and it's a clever way of relaying a lot of exposition to the audience about Isabel and Rusty's relationship without needing to be overt. 

7. Visual Effects 

The only certain CGI I noticed was the laser grid scene. It comes across fine, but doesn't completely sell to my eyes for some reason. Outside of that there may have been some touch ups but not much.  

8. Originality or Strength of Adaptation 

As a sequel, I like that they tried to switch things up and make this film distinct from its predecessor. And while there may be nods to other caper type films or media, this feels like one of a more original design.  

9. Stunt Coordination 

Not a ton of classic stunts but shout out to Vincent Cassel and the choreographer that built the heist dance. It may be silly but its visually fun.  

10. Direction 

Steven Soderbergh is going to come up more than a few times through the watchlist. He has a particular eye and style that distinguishes him from a lot of directors and he is someone that likes wearing a lot of hats on set. He frequently acts as his own cinematographer, grip and editor because he has a clear vision of what he wants to do. Twelve may not be the most liked of the Ocean's trilogy, but he had a different approach to the middle entry and I have grown to like it more and more over time.  

Legacy/Final Thoughts

I already mentioned that I really love Ocean's Eleven. However, I don't actually love these types of 'twisty' heist movies usually because they tend to build themselves around lies. They are actively deceiving the audience the entire time all in an effort to have a 'big reveal' at the end. Watching them is literally the bit from Rick and Morty about heist movies (here). Luckily, this film also seems to have frustrations with its own formula and is actively trying to subvert itself. Although whether you buy that or not will vary by person and maybe what number re-watch you are on. Anyway, if you were like me and didn't love this film originally, give it another chance. There is more to like here than you might think.