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# Ocean’s Twelve has got star power and is ‘messy’
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/oceans-twelve-has-got-star-power-and-is-messy/
- Published: 2004-12-10T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T05:47:43.000Z
- Author: Dan Dunn
- Tags: Environment, Santa Monica, #archive-import

Much like that pie-eyed Playboy of an uncle who flies off the handle every year at the family reunion, this sequel is messy yet still fun to watch. It’s been widely reported that director Steven Soderbergh’s production was a nonstop globe-trotting party for his fun-loving superstar cast, and the gleeful esprit de corps it engendered permeates the finished product like a martini-soaked olive. “Ocean’s Twelve” is relentlessly insouciant and asks audiences to adopt a similar attitude. Brad Pitt and George Clooney sure are a couple of cut-ups, and Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones exude va-va-voom. Throw in Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, a Cockney-fied Don Cheadle … hell, Bruce Willis and Topher Grace even make cameo appearances as themselves. And they’re all so dandy and seem to be having such a fantastic time, why not get in on the revelry vicariously for a few hours? After all, they are the brightest stars in the pop cultural galaxy for a reason: People LOVE watching them.

As for what they’re all doing besides charming us, three years after being bilked out of $160 million, ruthless casino boss Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) has tracked down Danny Ocean (Clooney) and his crew and demanded recompense with interest. With a two-week deadline looming, Ocean’s eleven pack up their designer duds and jet off to Europe (they’re “too hot” to operate in the states, plus it’s much cheaper to film abroad) intent on stealing the dough needed to save their skins. What’s new this time around? Well, Pitt gets a chance to play ladykiller thanks to the addition of newcomer Zeta- Jones, and Damon’s nerdy character asserts himself and steps into a leadership role. The script by George Nolfi isn’t as polished as the one Ted Griffin wrote for “Eleven,” but the actors are able to buff most of the dull areas with sheer charisma. Soderbergh — saddled with too many characters and storylines — takes so many shortcuts that the film feels like a bit of a cheat. But when taken — not too seriously — as a pastiche of beautiful people, exotic places, groovy tunes, and loosely comic set pieces, this sequel is a snazzy delight.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 10, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/121004.pdf?ref=smdp.com)