Ocean's 12

With an all-star cast on this scale, Steven Soderbergh must have pulled the punters into Ocean's 11 big time to get the green light for the sequel. Either that, or he robbed the same places as the Ocean's 12 gang.

Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) is on the prowl for revenge. Three years on, he has caught up with the source of his stolen $160million and wants every penny back, plus interest, within two weeks, or heads will roll. In a tight corner, Danny (George Clooney) rounds up his 10 comrades, plus new boy Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon), to recoup the money in a mammoth three-way heist, covering Paris, Amsterdam and Rome.

As usual, there's a lot of subtle cajoling, as they make their way around the finer landmarks of Europe, dressed for the part, winking, chatting on mobiles, wheeling and dealing with whomever it takes.

Things begin to turn on their axis when Isabel Lahiri (Catherine Zeta Jones) comes into play. She's a forensics detective and progeny of one of the world's best thieves, hot on the tail of Ocean's 12 tracing their every move trying to stay one step ahead. It is Rusty Ryan's (Brad Pitt) job to throw her off the scent by switching on the charm.

Then there's The Night Fox (Vincent Cassel), protege of the legendary La Marque, who drops into the scene once Danny picks up his trail. Believing himself to be the best in the business, he sets Danny a challenge to steal the highly coveted Faberge Coronation Egg. This will decide who is the greatest thief of all, which brings an assortment of characters into the equation, including Danny's wife (Julia Roberts), posing as a heavily pregnant actress, Bruce Willis (as himself) and the rest of the 12 doing what they're paid to do.

Needless to say, it is hyperbole, used to gloss over a fairly insubstantial plot. Handheld cameras and quickfire zooms are Soderbergh's trademark, which means the result is incredibly stylish. The twists and turns are in place and, although no real surprises are sprung, the finale is played out with enough cheekiness to keep you in the right mind set after two hours.

It's not as good as the first, which wasn't the so memorable anyway, and there is a bunch of big names with very little to do. Don Cheadle still has the worst cockney accent in the world, but with George and Brad and Julia and Catherine on show, who's going to notice?