Feature Movie Description... continued.
Ocean's Eleven - 2001
George Clooney's all-star remake of the Rat Pack romp is as much a heist film as it is a gambling flick. Along with the pure fun of seeing such an array of talent gathered on one screen, the movie is also a great look at the intricate security measures of a modern Vegas casino. Clooney is con artist Danny Ocean, who's barely out on parole when he's planning his next big gig: he and pal Rusty (Pitt) will assemble a skilled crew of thieves--including cool cats Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac and Carl Reiner--to bypass an impossible series of high-tech security measures and bust into a main vault holding $150 million from three casinos (the Bellagio, MGM Grand and Mirage) on the night of a heavyweight boxing bout. Ocean has another agenda: the casinos his crew will hit are owned by tough guy Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), who's dating Danny's ex, Tess (Roberts). Danny not only wants his share of the $150 mil, he wants Tess back and Benedict humiliated by the public loss of cash and girl. "When that perfect hand comes along, you bet big, then you take the house," Danny tells Rusty. The jackpot scene: Director Steven Soderbergh's exciting, cleverly choreographed heist scene, which involves gaining access to casino money cages, passing through a set of locked doors with codes that change twice a day, getting down an elevator that requires fingerprint identification (and which is surrounded by motion detectors), voice confirmation from two security sources and the nimble maneuverings of a 95-pound Chinese acrobat. Not to mention slipping past two uzi-armed guards and "the most elaborate vault door conceived by man."