Not even for the stars... Review on Ocean's Twelve Movie

How often do you get the opportunity to watch a Hollywood movie released simultaneously in the US and India, in the opening week-end itself? Such are the times. What's more, it happens to be the much-awaited sequel to the American equivalent (in a way) of K3G!

Heist plots have always been interesting. When loaded with a galaxy of stars and stylish presentation, it became a sure-shot recipe to success. This is definitely an attempt to cash in on the formula. If you care about the story, Benedict has caught up with the 'eleven' and wants his looted money back. To repay him, they plan operations in Europe. Behind them are a quirky adversary and an attractive but shrewd detective.

Shuttling between picturesque places of Amsterdam, Paris, Rome et al is interesting, but not as much as the casino world of Las Vegas. A few characters nearly go out of the audiences' sight and mind; but the screenplay has time to get into the minds of a couple of them. The movie is slow at times while the wise-cracks have gone down in quality and quantity. The turns are very predictable and ordinary, including the climax. The sequence involving the real-life Julia Roberts is superficially funny, but ends up making the robbery look frivolous.

Pitt has a good amount of screen-time and goes about it casually. Clooney seems to have let his acting flow from his role as one of the executive producers! Zeta-Jones is serious compared to the rest, not present just to add some glamour to the movie as one would expect. Damon has a few moments as the wannabe character. Roberts, like many of her co-stars, seems to be having fun. Cassel does okay in his interesting part while the rest of the cast is pretty much wasted. As if all these stars weren't enough, you have one more surprise too in store!

The slick cinematography and editing nearly re-create the earlier movie's feel. The background score combines style and novelty, without being loud, to make a good contribution.

Soderbergh and his team seemed to have had great fun making the movie. Unfortunately, that hasn't translated to enough entertainment for their audience.