Ocean’s Trilogy 4K Ultra HD Review

THE MOVIE — 3¾/5

OCEAN’S EVELEN (2001) — Dapper Danny Ocean (GEORGE CLOONEY) is a man of action. Less than 24 hours into his parole from a New Jersey penitentiary, the wry, charismatic thief is already rolling out his next plan. Following three rules: Don’t hurt anybody, don’t steal from anyone who doesn’t deserve it, and play the game like you’ve got nothing to lose. Danny orchestrates the most sophisticated, elaborate casino heist in history.

Quick Hit Review: One of the very few remakes that outdoes the original, Ocean’s Eleven is just an all-around fun heist-comedy that features a wonderful ensemble and is one of those comfort films you can put on when you just want to be entertained. ****¼/*****

OCEAN’S TWELVE (2004) — After successfully robbing five casinos in one night, Danny Ocean (CLOONEY) and his crew of thieves (BRAD PITT, MATT DAMON, DON CHEADLE, CASEY AFFLECK, SCOTT CAAN, BERNIE MAC, EDDIE JEMISON, QIN SHABO) have big problems. Despite pulling off one of the biggest heists in Las Vegas history, the members of the gang have already spent much of the money they stole. Casino owner Terry Benedict (ANDY GARCIA) demands that Ocean return the money, plus millions more in interest. Unable to come up the cash, the crew is forced to come together to pull off another series of heists, this time in Europe.

Quick Hit Review: The sequel, while having some fun moments for sure, doesn’t live up to its predecessor, mainly that it at times feels self-congratulatory and was just a great way for the ensemble cast to get a free vacation to Europe. It’s not a bad movie but it does not hold very much replay value. ***/*****

OCEAN’S THIRTEEN (2007) — Danny Ocean (CLOONEY) and his gang hatch an ambitious plot for revenge after ruthless casino owner Willy Bank (AL PACINO) double-crosses Reuben Tishkoff (ELLIOTT GOULD), Danny’s friend and mentor. First, Ocean’s gang plan to hit Bank in the paycheck by reversing the precept that the house always wins. Next, they will deal a crushing blow to Bank’s ego by ruining his reputation as the only hotelier to earn the Royal Review’s Five Diamond Award for each of his properties.

Quick Hit Review: The conclusion (as of this writing anyway) to the trilogy goes back to its roots and has plenty of fun to go along with a smarmy and terrible villain played by the venerable Al Pacino. Clooney and company are back to form with Eddie Izzard returning for a more expanded role this go around. Probably to curtail the budget, gone are Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones. This entry certainly is plenty entertaining. ***¾/*****

SPECIAL FEATURES – 4/5

This 3-disc release comes housed in a embossed slip cover and inside is a single redemption code for all three films. All of the bonus features were ported over from the Blu-ray releases.

OCEAN’S ELEVEN

• Audio Commentaries
  • Director Steven Soderbergh and Writer Ted Griffin
  • Actors Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Andy Garcia
• Featurettes
  • Are You In or Out?: The Making of Ocean’s Eleven
  • Pros & Cons: Inside Ocean’s Outfit
  • The Style of Steal
  • The Look of the Con
  • Original Ocean’s: Original Cool

OCEAN’S TWELVE

• Director Steven Soderbergh and Writer George Nolfi
• Featurettes
  • Ready, Jet, Go: The Making of Ocean’s Twelve
  • HBO First Look: Twelve is the New Eleven – The Making of Ocean’s Twelve
• Deleted Scenes

OCEAN’S THIRTEEN

• Director Steven Soderbergh and Writers Brian Koppelman and David Levien
• Featurettes
  • Third’s a Charm: The Making of Ocean’s Thirteen
  • Ahab with a Piggyback: The Means & Machines of Ocean’s
  • Jerry Weintraub: Walk and Talk
  • Masters of the Heist
• Deleted Scenes

VIDEO – 4¼/5

All three Ocean’s films are presented in the original theatrical 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 2160p high-definition transfer as these are making their 4K Ultra HD debuts. While I won’t say these look phenomenal in the format, it’s still nice looking with the wide color palette, particularly the first and third films that take place in Vegas, while the second one has some cooler tones in some scenes. Detail on each is relatively sharp and the natural film grain is still noticeable giving them a bit of texture. Doing a quick direct comparison with the 2007 Blu-ray release, it is a good upgrade.

AUDIO – 4¼/5

Each film comes accompanied with a new DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which is a good update to the older Blu-ray which was only Dolby Digital 5.1. The amazing David Holmes’s score makes the most of every channel while dialogue comes across the center speaker with good clarity. The depth isn’t anything incredible but still notable.

OVERALL — 4/5