Ocean's Eleven

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

It's a scrumptious and dizzy-spirited lark, a what-the-hell-let's-rob-the-casino flick made with so much wit and brains and dazzle and virtuosity that the sheer speed and cleverness of the caper hits you like a shot of pure oxygen.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Forget Oscar, Ocean's Eleven is the coolest damned thing around.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Depends on comic timing so precise that it seems weightless and all but effortless. And it depends on performers, of course, who can do a comic turn just as readily as a deft writer can turn a phrase. In that department, Ocean's Eleven is at least 11 times blessed.

Film Threat Michael Dequina

Soderbergh's film will be remembered less for the (inspired) star casting than for being one expertly made piece of pure, unpretentious popcorn entertainment.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

One thoroughbred of a movie. Sleek, well-muscled and brisk, director Steven Soderbergh's newest offering delivers just about everything anyone could possibly want from filmed entertainment -- except deep thought.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

It's slick, sleek, and stylish, and if it doesn't quite redefine cool, it certainly offers a snazzy update.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

If the new Ocean's Eleven is mostly Clooney's show, he's more than up to the task of carrying it. Indeed, this could be his career-defining role: The twinkle in his eye has never seemed more disreputable, his devil-may-care charm has never seemed so appealing, and he dominates the movie with the graceful ease of a Golden Age Hollywood star.

Washington Post Rita Kempley

Soderbergh won't hit the Oscar jackpot with Ocean's Eleven, but he has come up with a stylish winner.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

A champagne bubble of a movie, lively, effervescent and diverting. If it bursts earlier than we'd like -- and it does -- that takes nothing away from the considerable pleasure it provides along the way.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Soderbergh rallies a seismic jolt of enthusiasm, and the movie is an elating blaze of flair and pride.

LA Weekly Manohla Dargis

The most purely entertaining movie to come out of Hollywood so far this year, and if that doesn't seem worthy of Soderbergh's talents, it's worthy enough for a night's amusement.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

The movie, in a very real sense, is about the privilege, the sexiness, of being a movie star. Certainly it isn't about the heist; never was.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Together, they (Clooney and Gould) threaten to sneak off with the movie when Soderbergh isn't looking, sowing madness and sex appeal in their wake.

Newsweek David Ansen

This time out the versatile Soderbergh has cast himself as a sleight-of-hand artist. He's made deeper films, but this carefree caper movie is nothing to sneeze at.

Variety Todd McCarthy

An all-star remake of the all-star original, Ocean's Eleven is a lark for everybody concerned, including the audience. Breezy, nonchalant and without a thing on its mind except having a little fun.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

It's a kick, it's a gas, and it gives the Rat Pack itself a run for its money.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Soderbergh -- helms a much tighter and arguably cooler film -- even if the only thing audiences are likely to remember about this Ocean's Eleven is that, while they were watching it, they enjoyed it tremendously

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

In her byplay with Clooney, Roberts only occasionally strikes a spark. Clooney, on the other hand, generates heat.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

A caper that rarely goes wrong.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

It's not deep for a second -- indeed, it repels depth deliberately as if allergic to it -- but it's as swell a swell time as grown-ups could want at the movies.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

This time, the actors don't seem to be making up the movie as they go along, and they're guided by a gifted director who has earned the right to have some guileless fun.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

The movie tells you right up front you're going to get what you came for: big stars, winking inside jokes and a spin on something so familiar it doesn't matter that you don't buy it for one minute. You're not meant to.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

There's no joy and little playfulness about this caper comedy, which, despite a lighthearted script, has a sober undertone to it, almost a melancholia.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

As they've proven before and doubtless will prove again, Soderbergh and his cast are capable of better, weightier, more substantial stuff. But for now, slumming has rarely seemed more appealing.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Serious pianists sometimes pound out a little honky-tonk, just for fun. That's like what Steven Soderbergh is doing in Ocean's Eleven.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Good, expensive, easygoing fun. It's no masterpiece, but why should Soderbergh -- or anybody -- get three in a row?

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Soderbergh and writer Ted Griffin added plot twists that will catch you off-guard, dumped the clever ending and worked in a love story that's as superfluous as elevator shoes on Shaquille O'Neal.

Slate David Edelstein

The movie is mechanical, but machines can be elegant, even inspired.

Village Voice J. Hoberman

The movie is slick and studiously cool -- with plenty of visual flourishes but not too much soul.

USA Today Mike Clark

Despite dashes of droll dialogue from screenwriter Ted Griffin, the remake aims for cool but instead gets chilly.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Sure, like cotton candy: It doesn't do a thing for you, but it's wickedly sweet as it melts on your tongue.

The New Yorker David Denby

The most confidently professional work Soderbergh has ever done, but it's also the least adventuresome and emotionally vital. It vanishes faster than a shot of bourbon. [Dec 10 2001, p. 110]

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

A pretty good caper comedy for 11-year-old boys -- "heist thriller" would make it sound too ambitious.

New Times (L.A.) Gregory Weinkauf

Too bad it commits the crime of being so intensely average, because what could have been sensational turns out to be merely this week's heist movie.

Time Richard Corliss

Doesn't offer much.