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This film shows what Las Vegas was like when it was an "adults only" city. This was when Sinatra and his boys ruled Vegas, and we should be thankful that they had the foresight to put some of the flavor of the times on film.
Now, where's my martini? I'm late for my craps game.
Although the DVD cover calls this movie a heist caper, the script must rank as the most easygoing heist even presented on screen. The title character, ex-paratrooper Danny Ocean, who is played by Sinatra, calls together ten members of his old unit to plan and execute a multi-million dollar robbery of five Las Vegas Strip casinos and much of the beginning of the film is spent gathering up the team, spending time with a few of them to see why they decide to join in and spending time watching Danny tangle with the women in his life and the boys tormenting their underworld backer. The planned heist appears to be foolproof and remarkably easy as long as everyone does his job. Naturally since this is 1960 and the bad guys still can't really win, a few twists in the plot are thrown in.
Surprisely, Sinatra does not give a very good performance in the film, especially when compared to his earlier work. Of the rat packers, only Peter Lawford gives a solid performance throughout. Even Dean Martin, with his relaxed style of acting, slums it on occasion. It is the other actors like Akim Tamiroff, Patrice Wymore, George Raft, and Cesar Romero who give the best performances. In fact, Cesar Romero almost steals the show as the (almost) retired gangster Duke Santos who might just crash the boys' New Year's Eve party. It is surprising that some of the best scenes in the movie are ones without the nominal stars.
The main problem with this edition of "Ocean's 11" is that it suffers from an identity crisis. You suspect it was intented to be a comedy, or a suspense, or maybe even a morality play but the script cannot make up mind through most of the film. It is perhaps best to describe it an excuse for a group of people to make a movie and have a good time doing it and hopefully the film audience will join in the fun.
If you like your crime films to have lots of suspense, action and explosions, "Ocean's 11" is not the film to see. If you like to see a time capsule of a bygone era whose likes we will not see again, this film may work for you.
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