Ocean’s 11 (1960) Rating: 2/5 Stars
Ocean’s Eleven (2001) Rating: 4/5 Stars
I recently watched both the original 1960 version and the 2001 remake. The 2001 movie has big stars like George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon. Despite the fame of many of the cast members, they still blend together well within the context of their characters. Ocean’s Eleven delivers everything you want in a heist film. A seemingly impossible plan, different layers of motivation, and a beautiful love interest, are rounded out by a funny and unique group of criminals. This movie really builds up a great story based on the foundation of the 1960 version, where many of these key elements of greatness are only present at the most basic level. The movie gives a few laughs and has more than one element of intrigue. The way that the crew plans to break into the vault feels modern and exciting, with just enough expertise to seem plausible and just enough risk to be exciting. (Bonus: the sequels are good too!)
The 1960 version of Oceans 11 stars all your Rat Pack faves: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and more. Due to this group of performers that ooze ultimate cool, I assumed that this movie would be incredible. It somehow has less of a stylish, swanky feel than the 2001 movie. The characters feel less developed and the motivations are less fleshed out. The plan is not very sophisticated and the ending is anticlimactic. One thing I did enjoy was the fact that the crew of guys were old army buddies. This gave them a greater bond than just a group of criminals who agreed to work together. Despite this deeper bond, I actually found that the characters seemed to care less about each other in this version than the 2001 film. I think that the group may have felt more cohesive to a viewer during the 1960s when all the stars were familiar faces. Overall, I much prefer the 2001 remake.
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