Summary

• Ocean's Eleven movies have a star-studded history over five decades, all revolving around charming thief Danny Ocean and his loyal crew.
• The films rely on charm, style, and cool, with varying levels of fun and enjoyment across the franchise sequels and spinoffs.
• The future of the Ocean's movies could feature a potential prequel series starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, keeping the heist legacy alive.

Including the original 1960 film, there are five Ocean's Eleven movies spanning almost five decades. Most people are familiar with Steven Soderbergh's 2001 remake of the original Ocean's Eleven movie. This reboot starred George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, and more in what turned into a star-studded affair. It became a beloved blockbuster and spawned two sequels directed by Soderbergh and an all-female spinoff directed by Gary Ross. Other than the 2018 spinoff, Ocean's Eleven revolves around a charming and skilled thief, Danny Ocean, and his loyal crew.

In the 1960 movie, Frank Sinatra played Danny Ocean, with George Clooney picking up the role in Soderbergh's three films. The Ocean's movies are reliably fun romps about charming characters pulling off impossible feats and getting one over on a villain who deserves it, setting the stage for the modern-day heist movie. At the very least, all the Ocean's movies rely on an abundance of charm, style, effortless cool, and likability, much like Danny Ocean himself. However, some of the entries into the franchise are more fun than others.

The Ocean's movies are all available to stream on Max

5 Ocean's 11 (1960)

The Frank Sinatra Movie That Inspired The 00s Franchise

The first of Ocean's movies was directed by Lewis Milestone and was a star vehicle for the Rat Pack, made up of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop. The film also starred Cesar Romero, Angie Dickinson, Norman Fell, Richard Conte, and Buddy Lester, among numerous other notable names of the era. Lawford brought the idea of World War II veterans robbing five Las Vegas casinos to Sinatra. Sinatra originates the character of Danny Ocean, who recruits ten of his former Army buddies to simultaneously heist the Sahara, Riviera, Sands, Flamingo, and Desert Inn casinos.

Sinatra's movie relies on the cast's collective charm, wisecracks, in-jokes, and real-life camaraderie...

Unfortunately, the movie falls behind all the recent efforts, as critics said it was a fun film, but had a lackluster script, little reason to care about the characters, and it was almost closer to a comedy than a heist movie. Sinatra and his gang shot the picture on the off hours during their Las Vegas performances, and it contains little in the way of urgency or real stakes. Instead, Sinatra's movie relies on the cast's collective charm, wisecracks, in-jokes, and real-life camaraderie so that they're essentially playing themselves casually inching through the film's plot.

4 Ocean's Twelve (2004)

A Sequel That Takes Chances With Mixed Results

Tasked with following up his critically acclaimed 2001 blockbuster, Steven Soderbergh reassembled the entire cast for Ocean's Twelve, along with a new addition of Catherine Zeta-Jones as Brad Pitt's love interest. Vincent Cassel is the villain known as the Night Fox, who competes with George Clooney's Danny Ocean for the title of best thief in the world. Soderberg chose not to repeat Ocean's Eleven's plot and structure. Instead, he transplanted Ocean's crew to Europe to pull off a couple of "impossible" heists in two weeks to pay back the money they stole from Terry Benedict and save their own lives.

The script is not as tight as the first movie with the heist aspects feeling thrown together rather than expertly planned.

The problem that keeps this lower in the Ocean's movies ranked is that there is too much going on. The first movie had a heist that the guys set up and then viewers followed them through it, enjoying the twists and turns. In Ocean's Twelve, the team pulls off a couple of heists while competing with a rival thief, and this causes the movie to lose out on the thrilling pace of the first film.

There are some things Ocean's Twelve does better than Ocean's Eleven. The movie had exotic European locales (Amsterdam, Rome, Lake Como) and Soderbergh was willing to experiment with an unconventional heist story. However, the script is not as tight as the first movie, with the heist aspects feeling thrown together rather than expertly planned. It is a fun and enjoyable ride with famous faces, but not as satisfying as what came before.

3 Ocean's 8 (2018)

A Reboot That Plays It Safe With A Likeable Cast

With Ocean's 8, director and co-writer Gary Ross continued the Ocean's franchise with an all-female cast led by Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, and Anne Hathaway, but to mixed results. Though Danny Ocean doesn't appear in Ocean's 8, the movie introduces his sister Debbie (Bullock), who is newly released after five years in prison and immediately assembles a crew for the Ocean's 8 heist — to steal a $150 million Cartier diamond necklace during the Met Gala. Debbie's crew includes Blanchett, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling, Helena Bonham Carter, Rihanna, and Awkwafina.

While the likable cast of the Clooney-led Ocean's movies set a high bar, this ensemble is just as fun for viewers and certainly elevate the movie.

As Debbie, Bullock attempts to replicate George Clooney's brains and bemused charm, but the film's fatal flaw is that there's essentially no villain and Ocean's 8's heist goes off without a hitch. The film lacks tension and stakes since Debbie and her crew are never in jeopardy, which illustrates just how important the Terry Benedict villain character was to Ocean's Eleven. It feels safe and has very little in the way of worry for the viewers. However, while the likable cast of the Clooney-led Ocean's movies set a high bar, this ensemble is just as fun for viewers and certainly elevate the movie.

2 Ocean's Thirteen (2007)

A Back-To-Basics Sequel With A Familiar Yet Fun Vibe

Ocean's Thirteen returns the whole crew to Las Vegas for a last big score that marked the end of Steven Soderbergh's trilogy. The movie introduces the new enemy, Willy Bank (Al Pacino), an unscrupulous hotelier who is opening the Vegas Strip's swankiest new casino. Ocean's Thirteen is a pure revenge fantasy as Danny reassembles his crew to get retribution for Bank double-crossing their mentor Reuben (Elliott Gould). Vincent Cassel also reprises his role as the Night Fox but Ellen Barken plays the film's lone female role since Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones didn't return.

The plot of Ocean's Thirteen is seen by many as the most preposterous and centers on Danny's crew renting a drill that can generate an earthquake on the Las Vegas Strip. However, the film is a return to form for the Ocean's franchise. While Ocean's Thirteen isn't of the same caliber as Ocean's Eleven, Pacino makes for a dastardly villain, the whole cast has a spring in their step, and it's overall the most enjoyable film of the sequels and remakes.

Ocean's Thirteen also happily reminds fans that Las Vegas is truly Danny Ocean's town, so while it doesn't take the chances that Ocean's Twelve did, its ability to play the hits made it a more enjoyable outing.

1 Ocean's Eleven (2001)

A Stylish, Fun, And Clever Heist Movie Classic

George Clooney's Ocean's movies kicked off with this critically acclaimed crowd-pleasing blockbuster that ranks as one of the best Hollywood heist films of the 21st century. Director Steven Soderbergh's reinvention of the 1960 original brings together an all-star cast and fully immerses them in the high-stakes glitz and glamour of Las Vegas. In Ocean's Eleven, George Clooney's charming master thief Danny Ocean comes out of prison and assembles a crew of expert thieves for an impossible job: robbing $160 million from the Bellagio hotel and its ruthless owner, Terry Benedict.

As Danny Ocean, Clooney has never been cooler, and he's supported by Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, the late Bernie Mac, and Julia Roberts, all of whom match Clooney's sheer movie star wattage. Also, vital to the story is Andy Garcia's Terry Benedict, who is a fearsome villain and the best of the franchise.

Ocean's Eleven was a smash hit that grossed $450 million worldwide, and it's the high-roller standard that the rest of the Ocean's franchise and other heist movies that followed it have been unable to equal. It not only was better in every way than the original but remains an untouchable heist movie even for its sequels and follow-ups.

Bruce Willis, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, and Johnny Depp were all approached to star in Ocean's Eleven.

How Ocean's 11 Compares To The Original

While the basic premise of both Ocean's Eleven films is the same, several key differences make Steven Soderbergh's movie unequivocally better. As iconic as the Rat Pack is, they make up only five of the titular Ocean's Eleven, with the other six characters being mostly forgettable. By contrast, every member of the crew in the 2001 film feels unique and valuable. Both films feature strong ensemble casts with good chemistry, but 2001's Ocean's Eleven invites the audience into this dynamic more, rather than featuring lots of real-life in-jokes that don't resonate unless one is actually a friend of Sinatra's.

There's also pacing to consider; as mentioned, Sinatra's Ocean's Eleven drags without urgency and has high enough stakes, whereas these are some of the remake's greatest strengths. Finally, there's Danny Ocean's differing motive. Sinatra's version of the character is smooth and likable but robs the casinos purely out of greed. Clooney's version of Danny Ocean, however, wants to win his wife back and get revenge, which gives 2001's Ocean's Eleven greater emotional buy-in adding to it being an overall more enjoyable experience.

The Future Of The Ocean's Franchise

Six years after Ocean's 8 was released, fans are still wondering if the Ocean's movies will continue. While it doesn't look like there will be a sequel to Sandra Bullock's spinoff, there may be more Ocean's adventures on the horizon. While it will have to wait for the end of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the lead actors from the 2023 smash hit Barbie are set to star in an Ocean's Eleven prequel series. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling will reportedly star in the new prequel to Ocean's Eleven and Warner Bros. will still produce the movie.

Since this was considered a prequel, this means that the George Clooney movies will still happen in this world in the future. Whether the new movie ties in with the storyline from that first Clooney movie or just takes place in the same universe earlier than it is unknown. Director Jay Roach talked about his movie.

"The Monaco Grand Prix is the backdrop and there’s a big famous shipping magnate who has a yacht. It’s not inexpensive. And I wanted it to be old-fashioned. Margot brought it to me as a kind of old-fashioned epic love story slash adventure disguised as a heist. It is a heist movie still, but it’s very much a love story. And we were both inspired by Hitchcock. To Catch a Thief but also Notorious. It just wants to be a big, big, you know, cinematic spectacle."

While three of the latter movies had all-male teams and the fourth had an all-female team, with Robbie and Gosling, there might be a better mix this time around, which might help the movie deliver something different in a heist movie that will likely remain consistent tonally to the originals. However, Robbie has tempered excitement more recently, as with a disappointing Ocean's prequel update, suggesting the movie isn't as sure of a thing as originally thought.

However, even more surprisingly, George Clooney revealed a new Ocean's script has been written which he is excited about and suggested that it might end up happening. While Ocean's Thirteen was thought to be the end of the trilogy, Clooney was hesitant to call the new project Ocean's Fourteen and suggested, "the idea is kind of like Going In Style." Whatever approach is taken, be it a prequel or sequel, the popularity of the Ocean's movies suggests the franchise will continue.