Ìý After a mixed response to heist sequel Ocean's Twelve, director Steven Soderbergh went back to basics for Ocean's Thirteen. George Clooney, Brad Pitt et al reassemble for an audacious heist in Las Vegas and this time it's Al Pacino who takes the hit as a smug casino kingpin. It all added up to "a helluva of a good time" and paying punters were happy to take a gamble on it.
A Drop In The Ocean
Soderbergh is a tad camera shy so this DVD doesn't boast much in the way of behind-the-scenes access. It falls to megabucks producer Jerry Weintraub to give us a "personal VIP tour" of The Bank casino set and apparently everyone else has the day off. He asks us to appreciate the oriental-style furnishings, points out Bernie Mac's face on the gaming chips and assures us the fruit machines are all real. And, after two minutes he's run out of things to say.
A potted history of Las Vegas is a little more edifying. Our gravelly-voiced narrator takes us back to the days of Bugsy Siegel, the mobster who came up with the bright idea of building a gambling getaway in the desert. We see how the town later evolved from Sin City to a family friendly theme park, but the focus remains on the gaming industry and the endless stream of hopefuls who grease the wheels of this corporate machine.
A Winning Hand?
Five additional scenes feature a bit more cheeky banter between the lads. Among them, Danny Ocean (Clooney) and Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) case the hotel gaming floor whilst swapping notes on the eternal mysteries of womanhood. Eddie Izzard gets a little more screen time as well, playing the gang's inscrutable techno wizard Roman Nagel. "If you get stuck," he tells them, "I'll be on the roof of The Bellagio communing with Ra…"
Unfortunately we don't get to hear from the cast offstage, which is a shame given a line-up as starry as this. It has to be said that, overall, the extras package is a bit of a bluff. Lucky for Weintraub, Ocean's Thirteen warrants repeat viewing on the small screen.
EXTRA FEATURES
Ocean's Thirteen DVD is released on Monday 5th November 2007.
