Running with the general consensus that the original is better than the remake, I decided to sit down and watch the 1960 'Rat Pack' original version of Oceans 11 and words honestly can't express how disappointed I felt after watching it.
The film starts OK and has a light comedic approach and starts to build its foundations pretty well. I'm prepared to accept that Oceans 11 needs some build up in order to establish the players involved in the heist; whilst it starts out fun, it quickly becomes arduous and generally very tedious to sit through the over-long introduction. Was the soap opera aspect with Danny Ocean and his wife really necessary? Oceans 11 redeems itself slightly in the second half when we finally get to the heist which I'll admit was quite clever and imaginative. Despite this though, the original version of Oceans 11 just seemed to be missing something; it lacked any sort of spark, it lacked fun and any real excitement. It's been a long time since I've seen the remake so I'm not really in a position to give a 'blow by blow' analysis of the two films, but I do remember enjoying the remake much more than I enjoyed this film.
The film throws in a plot twist later involving heads of the 5 Casinos and Duke Santos (who figures out that Oceans gang have stolen the money). The Casino bosses offer Santos 30% of the total money that's stolen if he's successfully able to recover the full amount. This twist perked my interest, but it never went anywhere and seemed pointless when we then learn what direction the film took at the end (I'll admit it was surprising, but not in a good way - I actually found the ending a bit dumb and anti-climactic if I'm being totally honest).
I had high hopes for this film and figured that because I enjoyed the remake that I must surely enjoy the original. However, despite a strong start, the odd bit of light humour and a relatively clever middle section, the film is counter-balanced by an over-long set-up, unnecessary soap opera and for the most part it just lacked fun and excitement. Mediocre and not worth bothering with.
The film starts OK and has a light comedic approach and starts to build its foundations pretty well. I'm prepared to accept that Oceans 11 needs some build up in order to establish the players involved in the heist; whilst it starts out fun, it quickly becomes arduous and generally very tedious to sit through the over-long introduction. Was the soap opera aspect with Danny Ocean and his wife really necessary? Oceans 11 redeems itself slightly in the second half when we finally get to the heist which I'll admit was quite clever and imaginative. Despite this though, the original version of Oceans 11 just seemed to be missing something; it lacked any sort of spark, it lacked fun and any real excitement. It's been a long time since I've seen the remake so I'm not really in a position to give a 'blow by blow' analysis of the two films, but I do remember enjoying the remake much more than I enjoyed this film.
The film throws in a plot twist later involving heads of the 5 Casinos and Duke Santos (who figures out that Oceans gang have stolen the money). The Casino bosses offer Santos 30% of the total money that's stolen if he's successfully able to recover the full amount. This twist perked my interest, but it never went anywhere and seemed pointless when we then learn what direction the film took at the end (I'll admit it was surprising, but not in a good way - I actually found the ending a bit dumb and anti-climactic if I'm being totally honest).
I had high hopes for this film and figured that because I enjoyed the remake that I must surely enjoy the original. However, despite a strong start, the odd bit of light humour and a relatively clever middle section, the film is counter-balanced by an over-long set-up, unnecessary soap opera and for the most part it just lacked fun and excitement. Mediocre and not worth bothering with.