Friday, December 17, 2004
Oceans 12 - A Sea Change (6/10)
Now a lot of people have the opinion that if one liked Oceans 11, one would also like Oceans 12 ... and if one didn't like Oceans 11, one wouldn't particularly enjoy Oceans 12.
I appear to be part of a third category - those that liked Oceans 11, but disliked Oceans 12. And judging by the reaction of my friends, I'm not the only one in this category.
In fairness, I'd have to say that the theater was not very good. We watched the movie in the Lowes Cinema on 47th & Broadway (i.e.: the one under the Virgin Megastore). I didn't really like the theater - the screen was too small for the dimensions of the hall, and the projector bulb must've been set on power-save mode or somthing, cos the movie was severly under-lit. I'm going to stay away from that theater as much as possible (unfortunately, it's also the only theater in Manhattan that screens Hindi movies).
Anyway, onto the movie.
I didn't like it. It was a confused mess of plot lines. Gone is the charm & wit & sophistication of Oceans 11. The sequel is made up too many threads trying to be woven. You have the Benedict money angle, the Night Fox (sounds like a DC Comics character, wot?) angle, the Rusty-Isabel (Brad Pitt and an oh-so-heartstopping Catherine Zeta-Jones) angle, and two heists. Two! The movie was ultimately stretched - plot-wise, and time-wise. The result: nobody gets enough screen time to amuse the audience, who are ultimately left wondering what the hell happened.
There were some funny moments - Julia Roberts' character, Tess, pretending to be Julia Roberts was quite funny - but ... and this is a general malaise of the whole movie ... she was given too little screen time. And she had to share it with Bruce Willis.
All-in-all, I feel disappointed by the movie. The movie's currently topping the box office (unlikely to contiue after this weekend's releases), hich just goes to show: there's no accounting for some people's tastes.
I appear to be part of a third category - those that liked Oceans 11, but disliked Oceans 12. And judging by the reaction of my friends, I'm not the only one in this category.
In fairness, I'd have to say that the theater was not very good. We watched the movie in the Lowes Cinema on 47th & Broadway (i.e.: the one under the Virgin Megastore). I didn't really like the theater - the screen was too small for the dimensions of the hall, and the projector bulb must've been set on power-save mode or somthing, cos the movie was severly under-lit. I'm going to stay away from that theater as much as possible (unfortunately, it's also the only theater in Manhattan that screens Hindi movies).
Anyway, onto the movie.
I didn't like it. It was a confused mess of plot lines. Gone is the charm & wit & sophistication of Oceans 11. The sequel is made up too many threads trying to be woven. You have the Benedict money angle, the Night Fox (sounds like a DC Comics character, wot?) angle, the Rusty-Isabel (Brad Pitt and an oh-so-heartstopping Catherine Zeta-Jones) angle, and two heists. Two! The movie was ultimately stretched - plot-wise, and time-wise. The result: nobody gets enough screen time to amuse the audience, who are ultimately left wondering what the hell happened.
There were some funny moments - Julia Roberts' character, Tess, pretending to be Julia Roberts was quite funny - but ... and this is a general malaise of the whole movie ... she was given too little screen time. And she had to share it with Bruce Willis.
All-in-all, I feel disappointed by the movie. The movie's currently topping the box office (unlikely to contiue after this weekend's releases), hich just goes to show: there's no accounting for some people's tastes.
