I haven't seen the 1960 film for a while, and plan to re watch it shortly. But I will say I did enjoy very much this film. True, there are a lot of characters so sometimes the film feels shallow, and sometimes the pacing is a tad too pedestrian. But there are a number of things that made it a slick and well done film. First, the direction was excellent. Steven Soderbergh is a talented director, and he direction is super efficient. The plot is good, about Danny Ocean and his ten accomplices planning to rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously. The soundtrack is cool, the cinematography is professional and the script is witty. But it is the stellar performances that make the film. George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Elliot Gould and Bernie Mac all give fun performances, elevating what could've been a predictable and unoriginal film into a quite enjoyable one. 8/10 Bethany Cox

An enjoyable enough crime story from golden child Steven Soderbergh, perhaps not achieving classic status but still very amiable to sit through. This remake has many things in its favour, not least in Soderbergh's direction; this is a man with the power to turn the most mundane plot events into fairly gripping, watchable drama. His film looks and feels good, reaching a classy level far above anything most Hollywood directors these days have the capability of achieving. The plot, it has to be said, is fairly clichéd and predictable, but there are one or two surprising twists and a witty script gives to some fine interplay between the characters. Of course, it goes without saying that the star-studded cast is the main reason to sit through this film and enjoy it.

George Clooney heads the bill as Danny Ocean, a suave and snappily-dressed criminal who devises the perfect robbery. The more I see of Clooney, the more I like him; in fact he may be one of the only stars in Hollywood today to recall the charm and charisma of the old school actors like Cary Grant and Clark Gable. Combining dashing looks with strong acting methods, Clooney is a real gem of an actor and it's astonishing that he began in television when his forte is so obviously the cinema. Not that I want to sound sycophantic, but Clooney is one of the good guys. His foil is none other than Andy Garcia, who seems to have been off our screens for a decade, so who now looks suddenly a heck of a lot older than he used to. Garcia crafts a cold, cold character for his casino owner, Terry Benedict, combining smoothness with menace with barely uttering a word.

Brad Pitt has a supporting role as Clooney's accomplice and is, well, Brad Pitt. He doesn't have a lot to do but he seems to be enjoying himself. Julia Roberts is the conventional love interest but I have already expressed my dislike of the actress elsewhere so I'll leave it at that. With so much of the screen time devoted to many different characters and actions, not many of the other actors get much of a look in and instead appear to be along for the ride, adding "name value" to the poster. Matt Damon barely registers as the young, smart pickpocket; Casey Afflect and Scott Caan provide dubious comic relief; Elliott Gould has aged in an astonishing way so this distracts from his acting. Congratulations to Carl Reiner, putting in a tour-de-force acting performance in a very small part. Watch out for Joshua Jackson as a card shark and Don Cheadle, whose character appears to have been influenced by Dick Van Dyke in MARY POPPINS. OCEAN'S ELEVEN is a pure popcorn movie, but at least it credits the audience with some taste, intelligence, and refinery, unlike most big bucks blockbusters these days.

I imagine that followers of the legend of the Clan would find it unforgivable that George Clooney remade the ultimate Rat Pack film Ocean's 11. But I think even Frank, Dean, and Sammy would be happy with what Clooney and director Steven Soderbergh did with it. It's nothing less than a crackerjack caper film with a few stars to gaze at also.

The point in the original is that this was a film almost made as a lark for the participants while the main players were appearing at the legendary Sands Resort in Las Vegas. These were old army ranger buddies who decide to put their training to use and heist five casinos.

Clooney and buddy Brad Pitt's film has them in the Frank and Dean roles and they're a much more professional outfit who are only doing one of them. But it's the one Andy Garcia owns and Clooney has a score to settle with him. He's taken Clooney's wife away played here ever so briefly by Julia Roberts. In the original Angie Dickinson had the part. And it was also a brief part.

Clooney and Pitt go out and recruit a crack team, some they know, some they don't. But it's a professional job and close run thing.

Garcia is in a part the equivalent of George Raft from the original. It was business for Raft and business for Cesar Romero the syndicate guy he hires to find them. But Garcia's a nasty character who settles his own accounts.

The film has got a whole lot of nice touches stylistically and cast is expensive and first rate. For those familiar with the original the irony of that ending is replaced by something completely different. More in keeping with George Clooney than Frank Sinatra.

Nevertheless I think the Chairman of the Board would like this Ocean's Eleven.