Director: Steven Soderbergh
Year Released: 2001
Rating: 2.5
Remake of the Rat Pack movie is, to quote my friend (who is even more jaded/critical than I am with regards to modern movies), "cool without ever being any good." Slicker than grease setup has Brad Pitt and George Clooney robbing casino owner Andy Garcia with a team of nine other guys, each specializing in some task (from security systems to back flips). Looks and moves breathlessly - Soderbergh, though I'm less 'high' on his oeuvre than others, has got an amazing cinematic sense about him - but the picture never has any tense, dramatic high points - not once did I ever sense that there was a level of danger, and there are few (if any) spikes on the EKG (you don't stop watching but are never completely captivated). I think Don Cheadle is doing a Brad Pitt-in-Snatch impersonation, but Elliot Gould and Carl Reiner stand out as the seniors of the gang. The Clooney-Julia Roberts relationship is so superficial it feels as if it were tacked on with a plastic hammer - neither of them, for an instant, acts like their union is remotely believable or meaningful. Would have made a great video game, and that soundtrack (by David Holmes) is the sweetest thing since ... well, Out of Sight.
