By Jeff Swindoll Monsters & Critics

“You shook Sinatra’s hand. You should know better.”

The Oceans gang is back for one more score, but this time it’s personal when one of the crew is knocked down by the slimy Wally Bank (Al Pacino). 

It’s a good time and not like a one-armed bandit at all - you’ll be glad to give your money to this Vegas slot machine.  

Reuben (Elliott Gould) is in partnership with Wally Bank (Al Pacino) in a new casino.  However, Bank has other plans and when he cheats Reuben out of his share of the casino and makes the old boy have a heart attack.  This gets up the ire of Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his request to restore Reuben’s cut falls on Bank’s deaf ears.  Not only do they have to deal with Bank, but with Abigail Spooner (Ellen Barkin), his casino manager. 

So Danny swears that he’ll avenge Reuben in part to get even and to also give the bedridden Reuben something to live for.  So he calls in his partners Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon), Frank Catton (Bernie Mack), Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle), Saul Bloom (Carl Reiner), Livingston Dell (Eddie Jeminson), and Virgil (Casey Affleck) and Turk (Scott Caan) Malloy.  They call in Roman Nagel (Eddie Izzard) to consult when they hit a snag in the plans. 

To overcome a computerized system to catch cheaters, Roman suggests that they simulate an earthquake to get the system to reboot.  They’re digging a tunnel to get to the foundation of the hotel when their drill breaks and they don’t have the funds to get another one.  They recruit Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) to help fund their venture, but he imposes that they have to steal some jewels of Bank’s to seal the deal. 

So now they have create a fake earthquake, rig the casino to pay out for the 3 minutes that the complex computer system is down, to bankrupt Bank, and also steal his heavily guarded jewels too.  Can the Ocean’s crew pull off this massive venture?  Of course, since it’s just a movie.

The Ocean’s trilogy has always had a sense of fun and the cast seems to be eating it up. They give a wink and a nod to their Hollywood personalities and are more playing themselves than any sort of character (check out Pitt and Clooney’s final dialogue to each other – funny stuff). 

Everyone has a moment or two to shine in the film with Clooney being the calm center of the film (who takes some time to cry at Oprah’s show when need be).  The plot is pure Hollywood cotton candy and you really could only attempt such a completed scheme in the movies.  However, you’re not supposed to give much thought to those aspects of the film and just sit back, pop the corn, and enjoy the proceedings.  

Ocean’s Thirteen is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.  A fullscreen version is available separately.  Special features include the 22 minute “Vegas: An Opulent Illusion” profiles the city that never sleeps and how the casinos design themselves to make up part with our money. 

The 2-minute “Walk and Talk” has producer Jerry Weintraub leading us through the set of the casino.  There’s also 4 minutes of additional scenes but they really don’t add up to much.  

Ocean’s Thirteen continues the amusing series of films and the principle actors appear to be having the time of their lives and bring us, the audience, along for the ride.  It’s easy money to lay down your dollars to rent this fun film (although special features junkies will feel like they rolled snake eyes since this release is pretty light on them).