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I feel like I am in a time warp. Every week I start a review with, "in this third installment of". There was Spiderman, Shrek, Pirates, and now Ocean's 13. In a season of part threes Rusty (Brad Pitt), Linus (Matt Damon) and Danny (George Clooney) are back in Vegas hoping for a sure thing after crapping out in Oceans 12. I am an optimist by trade and looked forward to
this film. Letting bygones be bygones I was ready to put the past behind and enjoy a fun ride.

In 13 all the normal gang are back to seek vengeance against a casino owner (Al Pacino) who double crosses Reuban Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), Seeing Reuban despondent and bedridden puts Ocean's gang on a mission of vengeance. As always it will take calling in favors and pulling out all stops to ruin the grand opening of the new hotel. To do so means rigging every game on the casino floor; an impossible venture for any group. Well, except the writers. They pull every trick out of the bag and make impossible situations convenient and doable. You will need to over look all of these issues to totally enjoy the film. But it isn't hard.

That in mind, this is honestly better than the previous heist and returns to the quick wit, look and style of the original. The banter is fresh and humorous over a vibey soundtrack and decent plot. So yes it was better. But brilliant? No.  The element that made Ocean's 11 such a likable film was the characters. Although they all return here it is in brief, one and two line scenes that never give them a chance to breath and live. Frank (Bernie Mac) is restricted to a few sideways glances and a muttering or two and Livingston (Eddie Jemison) is reduced to a cameo at best. True the three amigos of Damon, Clooney and Pitt are prominent but it was the entire ensemble that made for greatness. The inclusion of Pacino and his right hand gal (Ellen Barkin) are a nice addition and both deliver expectedly solid performances.

This is a decent movie and fans of 11 will walk away feeling satisfied.  Rated PG-13 for brief sensuality, Ocean's 13 is a fairly tame movie by today's standards. The violence is non existent and the expletives rare. The sensuality, contained in one humorous scene, doesn't reach a one on the blush meter.  I give Ocean's 13 a solid 3.75 out of 5 rolls of the loaded
dice; just know before you go, I'm Matt Mungle.

The Mungle (06/05/07)

Matt is a member of the North Texas Film Critics Association (NTFCA) and hosts the weekly syndicated Indie Rock Radio Show Spin 180. Plus with his wife Cindy they do a weekly radio feature, The Mungles on Movies. For additional reviews and interview clips visit the website www.mungleshow.com

# of tocks (3.75 out of 5)