It had been awhile and I’d forgotten what fun this movie is. It’s all about cool…cool costumes, cool people, cool action and, especially, cool music. The jazz soundtrack does a lot to make Ocean’s Eleven cool.
So does Soderbergh’s camera, which is always panning or shooting from an angle that makes interesting composition or movement within the frame. Ocean’s Eleven would be a delight to watch even without the sound. But you’d miss something that way because the sound is so well-integrated into the editing. Like Contagion, Ocean’s Eleven is lyrical, cinematic poetry….with a story. And the story has a master’s feel to it, giving just enough information for the viewer to follow it without giving away too much. Some of dialog creaks, but some scenes, especially the ones between Clooney and Roberts, crackle with the smartness of bygone Hollywood. That is a pleasure, too.
It was a lot of fun to revisit this film. It’s not groundbreaking or strikingly original, but it takes a viewer back to what was so cool – and skilled -- ten years ago.
