Ocean’s Eleven was great. A straight forward heist (at least in what their goal was) with enough twists about how they got it done that really drug you through the movie. All held up by an excellent (and stacked) cast and a ton of banter.

Ocean’s Twelve has pretty much the same cast, which I loved. But the heist makes so much less sense this time around. They do try to justify it (Benedict wants his money back), but it just feels a lot more disjoint. And the final twist, much less earned.

Oh. And the Twelve?

Linus Caldwell: Hey, can I ask you something? You ever notice that…
Rusty Ryan: If you’re gonna ask if you can ask me a question, give me time to respond. Unless you’re asking rhetorically, in which case the answer is obvious - yes.
Linus Caldwell: Okay, can I ask you…
Rusty Ryan: Yes.
Linus Caldwell: Thanks. You ever notice that Tess looks…
Rusty Ryan: Ooh, don’t ever ask that. Ever. Seriously. Not to anyone, especially not to her.
Linus Caldwell: Wait, why not?
Rusty Ryan: Look, it’s not in my nature to be mysterious. But I can’t talk about it and I can’t talk about why.
[walks off]
Linus Caldwell: Oooooooooo.

It’s weird and meta and… kind of works? It’s a bit much of the movie, but still kind of fun.

Overall, I liked the first movie more. It really could have stood alone. But the second is good enough. We’ll have to see if the third can take it further… or not.

Onward!