Ocean’s Eleven

Director Steven Soderbergh and writer Ted Griffin update the Sinatra Rat Pack’s chummy heist movie of 1960, with a passel of movie stars pretending to be normal people out to knock over a handful of Vegas casinos. The original was nothing special—an all-star home movie with a great twist ending. The remake ironically succeeds where the original failed and fails where it succeeded. For the first 100 minutes or so, Soderbergh keeps things moving with the energy of a double vodka martini and Griffin gives the stars (George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Elliott Gould, Carl Reiner) some spicy and lively dialogue. But as the heist gets rolling, the film begins to unravel. Worse, Soderbergh and Griffin can’t find an ending, and their last-minute fumble all but ruins what went before.