Ocean's 13 - Unlucky For Us?

There's a serious epidemic sweeping across Hollywood, rampantly contagious and with no known cure. It's referred to in medical circles as OneSequelTooManyItus. That's Latin. They say Police Academy was responsible for the initial outbreak; something to do with a sordid encounter with a monkey. The point is, it's been six years since Ocean's Eleven first hit our screens (although let's not forget that even that was a remake of the Rat Pack's original) and it seems it hasn't been taking its jabs as this month the third instalment is let out of quarantine.

So, after the implausible remote-controlled-van-plot of Ocean's Eleven and the yes-we-did-stoop-as-low-as-a-holographic-Faberge-egg-plot of Twelve, who knows what the writers will dream up this time around? After all, when you've got to steal something that's categorically unstealable, you've got to get pretty creative. And it's no secret that no matter what the storyline turns out to be, it'll involve the pack pulling off a grand heist in the most convoluted of ways.

However, let's not dismiss this third instalment just yet (I know it's the natural reaction but just hear me out). You see, this time around the usual suspects are joined by the Godfather himself, Al Pacino, surely never a bad thing, and Steven Soderbergh's slick directing and '70s style editing are always pretty easy on the eye. And, c'mon, let's not kid ourselves, the Clooney/Pitt/Damon trio does make any movie watchable (in a totally, you know, heterosexual way of course). The Ocean's movies are as much about the style, the soundtrack, the clothes, the witty one-liners and on screen repartee of those three as anything else. And it works because they know it as much as we do and never take themselves too seriously. You know you all love it!

The past few years have seen some of the healthiest films struck down by this sequel spawning disease - so many in fact that it's only natural for our hearts to sink when the next diluted offering rolls around. But, hey, I'm an eternal movie-optimist. I'll go to Ocean's with just as much hope as I went to see Rocky Balboa (yawn) and Spider-Man 3 (zzzz). Perhaps I've just not learnt my lesson yet. But don't think of this as another movie. No, think of it as your three-yearly reminder to buy more sharp suits, Italian shoes and spend more money on shirts. Hey, if nothing else, just buy the soundtrack.