How many times can audiences be entertained by this baker’s dozen beating unbeatable adversaries, breaking unbreakable safes, or crashing uncrashable security systems? Speaking for myself – I’m still being entertained.

This time around, Al Pacino plays ornery casino host and the target of this Ocean grudge job. The film is, as always, a plethora of handsome stars quick with pretty or pithy lines, lots of smug smiles and clever sidebars. And all of it is entertaining. The cleverly woven plan is even a mite bit less convoluted than Ocean’s Eleven or Ocean’s Twelve.

Blessed with a sharp tight script, the direction is near flawless. Never a dull moment and compelling, with a hoppin’ pace throughout. Seldom do I find an A+ film, and I certainly thought I might have used that grade here. However, a few tiny mars hold 13 at only a full A (still an excellent grade). Those imperfections are: 1) The French guy’s inclusion falls far short of that character’s previous definition. (Would have been better to just create a new character.) 2) While the climax is still fun, it’s just a shade more relaxed that of the previous films. Perhaps I kept waiting for… 3) What happened to the motorcycle jump? I wanted to see that fouled up. Would have been a nice climax kicker. Overall, though, this is a highly recommendable picture.

Ocean’s Thirteen is written by Brian Koppelman and David Levien who had previously teamed up on the poker drama “Rounders.”

Since the film highlights camaraderie, Producer Jerry Weintraub wanted a place where everybody could hang out and relax while on the set. Toward that end, he took an unused conference room and tossed in a television, foosball, gaming, breakfast, lunch, dinner and dubbed it “The Ocean’s Club.” Director Steven Soderbergh says: “[It] was a great idea of Jerry’s. It ended up being a perfect place for the people to go and decompress.”

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