Steven Soderbergh directs George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon in this crime caper comedy where a just-released-from -prison mastermind assembles ten more crooks to perform an impossible heist in Las Vegas and win back his girl.

After the jazzy soulful Out Of Sight came the spiritual sequel, a smooth yet grand orchestral concerto. Visually this owes as much to Figgis’ Leaving Las Vegas as it does the Rat Pack era. The suits, the shorthand, the boppin’ David Arnold score. Movie just glides. Everyone gets some decent comedy business… their moment of peril, their desired victory with a twist. 10 men watching a fountain, walking away with ill-gotten 7 figure sums in their back pocket. Beauty. The romance works, Garcia’s villain is surprisingly a hoot. This project, in my mind, accidentally set the mould for the modern blockbuster; deep drill ensemble cast that exploits star power but doesn’t rely on one over paid name, defunct / musty IP resurrected, a self aware tone of sitcommy interaction over genuine danger or resolution. Sure, O11 is superior and maturer than a Marvel episode or a Pirates rehash but the DNA of the current tentpole is here. Certainly for Warner Bros… see any Batman film released post-2001 or Dune.

9

Perfect Double Bill: Ocean’s Twelve (2004)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/