Since it’s been about a year since we’ve seen the “Ocean’s Trilogy” released on physical format, Warner unleashes the trilogy of crime thrillers once again for physical media collectors. Yes, this time the individual movies from the “Ocean’s series was released in individual Steelbooks and a pair of specially packaged movies for the hardcore base of these trilogy of crime drama comedies. Oddly missing from the whole shebang is the original Frank Sinatra “Ocean’s Eleven,” as well as the abysmal female led “Ocean’s 8.” Maybe someday the fans will get a complete, ultimate edition with the whole series for their library, but for now this covers the basic trio of movies that gave us back the ensemble vanity project.
Ocean’s Eleven from 2001 is a great re-imagining of the Sinatra Rat Pack crime thriller taking some of the more appealing actors from Hollywood and teaming them together. George Clooney and Brad Piit lead an impressive cast with some fun twists, great suspense, and a very admirable sense of self awareness that I still find fun. I’m still not sure why Don Cheadle opts for a Cockney accent for his character, but I enjoy it. Ocean’s Twelve from 2004 falls right in to the trap the original one didn’t embracing itself smug sense of self congratulatory humor, re-teaming its former ensemble for an insufferable, and tedious follow up. Finally, Ocean’s 13 from 2007 is another dull and boring follow up that adds some international flavor to its narrative but still never quite catches the lightning in a bottle that we saw from the 2001 remake.
The on-disc bonus features are mostly repeats of those found found on WB’s 2014 Ocean’s Trilogy Collection although; there are a handful of minor legacy extras that aren’t included, with “Ocean’s Eleven” including an audio Commentary with director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Ted Griffin and a second Audio Commentary with actors Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, and Brad Pitt. There’s the twenty eight minutes Are You In or Out?: The Making of Ocean’s Eleven, the thirteen minutes Pros and Cons: Inside Ocean’s Outfit, the ten minutes The Style of Steal, the ten minutes The Look of the Con, and the fourteen minutes Original Ocean’s, Original Cool.
The Ocean’s Twelve disc is the same circumstance but from the 2008 Blu-Ray including an audio commentary with director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter George Nolfi, and the twenty five minutes Ready, Jet Set, Go: The Making of Ocean’s Twelve. There’s the thirteen minutes HBO First Look: Twelve is the New Eleven, as well as twenty eight minutes of Deleted Scenes, with eighteen clips total. Finally for the Ocean’s Thirteen disc, there is a vintage audio Commentary with director Steven Soderbergh and writers Brian Koppelman & David Levin, the thirty minutes Third’s a Charm: The Making of Ocean’s Thirteen, the nine minutes Ahab with a Piggyback: The Means & Machines of Ocean’, and the two minutes Jerry Weintraub Walk and Talk. There’s the forty four minute Masters of the Heist and finally four minutes of Deleted Scenes with four scenes total.