The Ocean’s movies: the films that made theft FUN. If only larceny were as exciting in real life! In celebration of breaking the law in the coolest way possible, here are the Ocean’s movies ranked from worst to best.
5. Ocean’s 11 (1960)
Before there was George Clooney and ’00s Hollywood stars, there was Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack. The gang came together decades before in order to create the original Ocean’s 11. Frankie’s Danny Ocean enlists his old World War II army buddies to rob not three, but FIVE Las Vegas casinos simultaneously, one-upping George Clooney by a total of two casinos. Two-upping?
The best part of the film is the easy camaraderie that Ocean and his associates have, playing off the real-life friendship of the Rat Pack. The worst part? This movie isn’t bad, per se, but it lacks the high octane thrills of later Ocean’s flicks. There aren’t any high flying stunts, no sequences that are truly nailbiting. It’s more of a low-stakes comedy than slick, cinematic heist movie. However, it laid the groundwork for the classy charm of the later Ocean’s movies. None of these films take themselves all that seriously, which makes them all the more fun.
4. Ocean’s 12
The good news is that there are no bad Ocean’s movies. There are just slightly less good ones. Robbing people is always a good time whenever George Clooney and friends are involved. Wanna break into your neighbor’s house to steal his coin collection? Call George; he’ll make it iconic. Ocean’s 12 is the stunner sequel to the smash hit original Ocean’s 11. Well, not the original original. The original remake. You know what I mean.
The plot concerns the usual suspects of Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s 11 with one new addition: Catherine Zeta Jones. Swoon. She joins the robbery ranks as the love interest to Brad Pitt, and the gang sets off to Europe to fleece some chumps in a double heist to save their collective skins. All that money they stole from Terry Benedict in the first film? They gotta steal more to pay it back or pay mortal consequences.
Points to Soderbergh for choosing to tell a new story rather than rehash the same plot of the old film. It would have been so easy to do, but he knew the Ocean’s gang deserved better. Extra points for the laser grid-dodging sequence when Night Fox steals the Fabergé egg with acrobatic aplomb. Endlessly iconic, and inspired a million references and parodies for years to come.
3. Ocean’s 8
Gary Ross’s Ocean’s 8 features an ensemble cast of women including Anne Hathaway, Sandra Bullock, and Cate Blanchett. What’s the heist? Robbing a bajillion dollar diamond necklace from the Met Gala, a story that modern viewers of the Hunger Games display of celebrity wealth that the Gala has become are sure to appreciate. The only problem with the film? For robbing one of the world’s most famous museums, it’s a little bit low-stakes.
First off, the film lacks a central villain to hate on. Sure, gross displays of wealth are villainous, but not nearly as despicable as that dick Terry Benedict from the original Ocean’s 11 film. The heist also goes surprisingly well, and the movie misses the opportunity for sh*t to hit the fan while the cast scrambles for solutions. It’s a slick film, but just a little bit too slick. The best part about an Ocean’s plan is when it goes horribly wrong. Still, watching Rihanna and Helena Bonham Carter assist in a museum heist is a spectacle not to be missed.
2. Ocean’s 13
Steven Soderbergh’s final film of the original Ocean’s trilogy is gloriously overblown. Al Pacino chews the scenery as Vegas hotel mogul Willy Bank, who ends up screwing over the Ocean gang’s beloved mentor Reuben. As a result, the gang isn’t fleecing Bank for the money. They’re fleecing him for pure, unadulterated revenge. The gang’s return to the Vegas strip soon spirals into the ridiculous, but is held together by the protagonists’ and audience’s collective desire to watch a devious villain go down.
This emotional grounding keeps the film on track when the gang is doing laughably over-the-top things like using a super powerful drill to fake an earthquake in order to assist in the heist. Are there easier ways to rob somebody? Yes, there are. But are those ways nearly as exciting? No, they are not. While this film doesn’t quite match up the original Ocean’s 11, it’s easily one of the most fun movies on the list. Ocean’s 13 doesn’t have any lofty cinematic ambitions; it seeks only to entertain. And ain’t that just the worthiest film ambition of all?
1. Ocean’s 11
Ocean’s 11 launched a dynasty of heist films that wetworked their way into the museum of pop culture consciousness. The plot is the best that blockbuster entertainment has to offer. A group of charming dudes rob three casinos run by total a-hole Terry Benedict. Ocean’s 11 is proof that a film is only as good as its villain, and Andy Garcia’s Benedict is a worthy foe. Garcia played Vincent Corleone in the Godfather Part III and gives an element of grounded menace to an otherwise light-hearted and fun film. He’s not a man to be screwed with, making the antics of the easygoing Danny Ocean and friends all the more entertaining.
The film is essentially an exercise in schadenfreude. It’s so satisfying watching the clever and calculating Benedict get fleeced right under his own nose. Danny Ocean and his crew rob not one, but THREE separate Vegas casinos managed by the mogul. One would think that three separate robberies in one movie script would make for a convoluted plot, but instead it only adds to the onscreen miracle. Watching Benedict’s three casinos get robbed simultaneously feels like sitting field-side while the home team runs the ultimate Hail Mary play in order to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Ocean’s 11 is slick cinematic spectacle at its finest. It was never about the money. It’s all about a good time.
