I imagine that followers of the legend of the Clan would find it unforgivable
that George Clooney remade the ultimate Rat Pack film Ocean's 11. But I
think even Frank, Dean, and Sammy would be happy with what Clooney and
director Steven Soderbergh did with it. It's nothing less than a crackerjack
caper film with a few stars to gaze at also.
The point in the original is that this was a film almost made as a lark for the
participants while the main players were appearing at the legendary Sands
Resort in Las Vegas. These were old army ranger buddies who decide to put their training to use and heist five casinos.
Clooney and buddy Brad Pitt's film has them in the Frank and Dean roles and they're a much more professional outfit who are only doing one of them. But it's the one Andy Garcia owns and Clooney has a score to settle
with him. He's taken Clooney's wife away played here ever so briefly by
Julia Roberts. In the original Angie Dickinson had the part. And it was also
a brief part.
Clooney and Pitt go out and recruit a crack team, some they know, some they don't. But it's a professional job and close run thing.
Garcia is in a part the equivalent of George Raft from the original. It was
business for Raft and business for Cesar Romero the syndicate guy he hires
to find them. But Garcia's a nasty character who settles his own accounts.
The film has got a whole lot of nice touches stylistically and cast is expensive and first rate. For those familiar with the original the irony of that ending is replaced by something completely different. More in keeping
with George Clooney than Frank Sinatra.
Nevertheless I think the Chairman of the Board would like this Ocean's Eleven.
