"Let's wrap this up. I've got a date with Melissa in half an hour."

Things I like:

• Caper movies
• George Clooney, some would say too much
• Matt Damon, but not to an inappropriate degree
• Steven Soderbergh, when he’s using his stylistic flourishes in service of a story (Traffic, Out of Sight) rather than just to use them (The Limey)

Ocean’s 11 has all this and more. Which is why I was looking forward to it quite a lot. And had expectations that were maybe a wee bit too high. And that’s probably the only reason I’m slightly disappointed in the finished product. I blame myself.

Because the movie is ultimately pretty good. Fun to look at, well-paced and slick slick slick, which could be considered a criticism, but for this kind of flick is wholly appropriate. Plus, it’s got list of mega-wattage, blockbuster, Hollywood superstars as long as my . . . well, it’s long.

Let me pause here to bring you up to speed. Ocean’s 11 is the story of Danny Ocean (George Clooney), recently paroled con, who wants to pull off the biggest heist in the history of Las Vegas, knocking over three casinos simultaneously. The “11” from the title refers to the number of people he needs on his team in order to run the job. Of course, as it turns out, the heist is mostly a revenge gig; Terry, the guy who owns all three casinos, is involved with Ocean’s ex-wife, Tess, played by Julia Roberts.

"You may have an Oscar, baby, but you're no Melissa Prusi."

The cast, for the most part, earns their (substantially reduced because there’s so damn many of them) paychecks. Particular favorites for me: Andy Garcia, playing the villain of the piece, a ruthless casino owner who — hey, wait a minute. All the guy wants is to not be robbed. How is that villainous? Well, the moral ambiguity inherent in a movie where you side with the criminals aside, his character is not a nice guy and Garcia brings the right note of understated menace to the role. I also really enjoyed Brad Pitt, playing Ocean’s second-in-command. I bought him in the role of a gambler and con man. His smooth patter and deceptively laid-back mannerisms called to mind his recent role in Spy Game, only there he worked for the government and got people killed instead of just stealing money. Damn, there’s that moral ambiguity again.

As for the ever-watchable Mr. Clooney, he seems to be making a career out of playing characters with larcenous tendencies. (See O Brother Where Art Thou, Three Kings and Out of Sight to get caught up on his criminal career. In fact, see them all just on general principles. They’re great movies.) He’s having fun here and it shows. The movie comes to life when he’s on screen with either Pitt or Garcia. These scenes have some of the best dialogue in the film, and the antagonism between Clooney and Garcia’s characters is one of the few emotional notes that felt real to me. (Not that there were that many actual emotions in the movie; this is not a character driven piece.)

And then there’s Queen Julia, an actress about whom I’m emphatically indifferent. Try as I might, I couldn’t find anything about the character either as written or portrayed, that would inspire Danny’s determination to win her back. As I said, this isn’t a character driven movie and I guess I should accept that, but it would have been nice if I could have cared a little about the outcome of the Danny-Tess-Terry love triangle. Barring that, they should have put her in a t-shirt that said, “Plot Device.” Then I would have known going in. (And — spoiler alert — I didn’t really buy her reconciliation with Danny at the end. So you find out your boyfriend is a jerk. Dump him. That doesn’t mean you automatically go back to the other guy who lied to you and broke your heart. Learn to be alone, Tess, for a couple weeks at least.)

"Hi, I'm George and I'll be your waiter tonight. May I recommend the prawns."

Finally, let’s talk about the caper itself. There’s cleverness involved, thankfully, instead of mindless violence like in 3000 Miles to Graceland, though I didn’t believe for a minute that it would work. As complicated as Ocean’s plan is, it still seemed too easy. Good news for actual Vegas casino owners; I don’t think anybody’s going to be using this movie as a how-to manual. One example of something that I don’t think would work in real life: Matt Damon’s character tails Terry early in the film, learning his routine. It’s stressed that Terry knows everything that goes on in his casinos, pays great attention to detail. So why doesn’t he, or at the very least his security team, notice that this guy is tailing him? Particularly when the same guy shows up later pretending to be an inspector from the Gaming Commission?

And one other note. I try not to be rabidly politically correct in these reviews, but why, on a team of eleven people, is there not one woman? What’s the matter, chicks don’t like to spin a con, blow things up or rappel into an underground vault? A little gender diversity next time, please.

But I’m being uncharitable. Overall I enjoyed the movie enough to recommend it. It’s a pleasant diversion that will entertain you for two hours, and that’s all it wants to be. So, go. Enjoy. Munch your popcorn. And lobby Warner Bros. for a sequel in which Danny and his gang rob Fort Knox. I think it could be really good.

Gorilla Pants rating: 2.5 out of 4 bananas