Ocean's Thirteen

Ocean's Thirteen
Company type	Film
Industry	Entertainment
Predecessor	Ocean's Twelve
Founded	2007; 19 years ago
Founder	Steven Soderbergh (director), Brian Koppelman and David Levien (screenwriters)
Headquarters	United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Steven Soderbergh (director), George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon (lead actors)
Products	Film
Owner	Warner Bros. Pictures
Parent	Warner Bros.

Ocean's Thirteen is a 2007 American heist comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh with a screenplay by Brian Koppelman and David Levien. Serving as the third entry in the Ocean's trilogy, it stars an ensemble cast led by George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon. The storyline centers on Danny Ocean and his team as they plot revenge against casino owner Willy Bank, who betrays their associate.

The movie debuted out of competition at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival on May 24 and was subsequently released in the United States on June 8 through Warner Bros. Pictures. It garnered favorable critiques for recapturing the original tone of the series and achieved commercial success, earning over $311 million worldwide on an $85 million budget.

Plot

Reuben Tishkoff collaborates with casino tycoon Willy Bank to develop a new hotel-casino in Las Vegas. After Bank forces Reuben to surrender his shares and Reuben suffers a heart attack, Danny Ocean reunites his team to undermine Bank’s grand opening as an act of vengeance.

Their scheme focuses on two primary objectives: preventing Bank from receiving the coveted Five Diamond Award by sabotaging the anonymous evaluator’s visit, and manipulating the casino’s systems to trigger substantial payouts that threaten Bank’s financial goals. Falling short of $500 million in first-quarter revenue could cost Bank ownership of the property.

To circumvent the Greco biometric security system, the crew gifts Bank a customized phone embedded with a magnetron. They also procure a tunnel-boring machine designed to simulate an earthquake, prompting an evacuation that enables players to cash out rigged winnings.

When the drill breaks down, former adversary Terry Benedict finances the operation in return for acquiring Bank’s diamond collection awarded for his Five Diamond achievements. Linus Caldwell seduces Bank’s assistant to gain access to the vault, while Benedict hires master thief François "The Night Fox" Toulour to intercept the diamonds.

On opening night, FBI agents employed by Ocean replace the shuffling machines with rigged versions. Linus, masquerading as a diamond courier, is “arrested” by an agent revealed to be his father, who extracts him along with decoy jewels. Toulour intercepts but finds that Linus never had the diamonds; Linus escapes via helicopter piloted by Basher.

The staged earthquake triggers an evacuation; patrons leave carrying millions in rigged winnings. Ocean confronts Bank, warning him against retaliation due to their influence within the industry and Bank’s own illicit dealings.

Using their shares, the team finances Reuben’s new casino project. Ocean donates Benedict’s $72 million cut to charity under Benedict’s name, compelling public acknowledgment on The Oprah Winfrey Show. At the airport, Rusty rigs a slot machine so that the actual Five Diamond reviewer wins $11 million as he departs contentedly.

The Thirteen

George Clooney as Danny Ocean, a former convict who assembles his team to seek justice for a friend
Brad Pitt as Rusty Ryan
Matt Damon as Linus Caldwell
Don Cheadle as Basher Tarr
Bernie Mac as Frank Catton
Casey Affleck as Virgil Malloy
Scott Caan as Turk Malloy
Carl Reiner as Saul Bloom
Eddie Jemison as Livingston Dell
Qin Shaobo as "The Amazing" Yen
Elliott Gould as Reuben Tishkoff, Danny's close friend planning a new casino until deceived by Willy

Eddie Izzard as Roman Nagel, an associate recruited for assistance
Andy García as Terry Benedict, bankrolls the crew’s next venture with expectations

Additional Cast

Al Pacino portrays Willy Bank, a casino tycoon who deceives Reuben to advance his project, The Bank hotel
Ellen Barkin plays Abigail Sponder, the personal assistant to Willy Bank
Vincent Cassel appears as François Toulour / The Night Fox
Bob Einstein acts as FBI Agent Caldwell, who is alerted due to suspicious events at The Bank
Olga Sosnovska takes on the role of the concierge at The Bank
David Paymer features as a Five Diamond Award evaluator ("V.U.P.")
Jerry Weintraub appears as Denny Shields, an old acquaintance of the thirteen
Julian Sands portrays Greco Montgomery
Luis Chávez plays Nestor and his twin sibling
Adam Lazarre-White acts as the Junior Executive at The Bank

Development

At the beginning of 2006, there was consideration to shoot Ocean's Thirteen at Wynn Las Vegas. George Clooney had expressed interest in filming at his proposed Las Ramblas Resort in Las Vegas; however, that location was not ready for production. By March 2006, it was announced that a significant portion of filming would occur on a specially constructed casino set spanning five sound stages at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Principal photography was planned to commence in both Las Vegas and Los Angeles during July 2006.

Casting

In April 2006, Al Pacino was cast as the leading villain, Willy Bank. Returning actresses Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones, who portrayed Tess Ocean and Isabel Lahiri in earlier films, did not reprise their roles, reportedly due to their limited involvement in the new script. Their absence is briefly acknowledged within the story when Danny Ocean remarks that this heist "is not their fight." Additionally, Topher Grace, who appeared in previous installments, was unavailable because of reshoots for Spider-Man 3 (2007); his planned scene included a mysterious exchange with Rusty.

Filming

Location scouting began in mid-July 2006, confirming the Bellagio, featured prominently in Ocean's Eleven (2001), as a principal filming site. Shooting commenced on August 7, 2006, in Las Vegas, including scenes at McCarran International Airport and an adjacent heliport. On August 8, production shifted to the under-development Palazzo resort. Filming in Las Vegas concluded on August 9 after capturing key sequences with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Andy García behind the Bellagio. Further filming at the Bellagio was scheduled for September 2006.

Producer Jerry Weintraub and George Clooney contemplated holding the film’s world premiere in Las Vegas to honor the city’s pivotal role throughout the trilogy.

Box office performance

Ocean's Thirteen premiered across theaters in the United States and Canada on June 8, 2007, debuting at number one despite opening in 250 more venues than Ocean's Twelve (2004). It grossed $36 million during its opening weekend, slightly less than the $39 million launch of its predecessor. The film earned $117.1 million domestically and $194.6 million internationally, culminating in a worldwide total of $311.7 million. Although this was below the $450.7 million global earnings of Ocean's Eleven (2001), it was still regarded as a financial success and surpassed Ocean's Twelve internationally.

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, Ocean's Thirteen maintains a 70% approval rating derived from 201 reviews, with an average score of 6.4 out of 10. The site's consensus reads: "Returning to the formula of the original, Ocean's Thirteen delivers another polished and enjoyable heist movie." On Metacritic, the film holds a score of 62 out of 100 based on 37 critiques, signifying "generally favorable reviews". Audience feedback from CinemaScore assigned the film a "B+" grade on average.

David Edelstein of New York commended Steven Soderbergh’s direction, emphasizing the seamless editing and George Clooney’s compelling lead performance. Manohla Dargis from The New York Times highlighted Soderbergh’s inventive use of color alongside Clooney’s charismatic presence as notable elements.

Conversely, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded two and a half stars out of four, pointing out the film’s deficiency in character depth despite its brisk dialogue and pacing. Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian offered a harsher critique, describing the storyline as lacking clear motivation or romantic elements and feeling somewhat fragmented.

Awards and nominations

Award	Ceremony date	Category	Nominees/Recipients	Outcome
Teen Choice Awards	August 26, 2007	Choice Movie – Comedy	Ocean's Thirteen	Template:Nom
		Choice Movie Villain	Al Pacino	Template:Nom
		Choice Movie Chemistry	Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy García, Brad Pitt, among others	Template:Nom
People's Choice Awards	January 8, 2008	Favorite On Screen Match-Up	George Clooney and Brad Pitt	Template:Won
Costume Designers Guild	February 19, 2008	Excellence in Contemporary Film	Louise Frogley	Template:Nom
BET Awards	June 24, 2008	Best Actor	Don Cheadle (also for Talk to Me)	Template:Nom

Home release

The Region 1 DVD and Blu-ray editions of Ocean's Thirteen were made available on November 13, 2007. Subsequently, a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version was issued on April 30, 2024, which included a special limited SteelBook edition.

Future installment prospects

Following Ocean's Thirteen, plans for another sequel were put on hold after the passing of cast member Bernie Mac in 2008. However, in June 2021, Don Cheadle revealed that director Steven Soderbergh was working on developing a new chapter. The next month, Matt Damon expressed willingness to reprise his role, provided Soderbergh remained at the helm with a clear creative vision.

External links