In the first five minutes of Ocean's 11, the remake of the 1960 Rat Pack film which starred Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., the audience is well aware of who to like and who to dislike. The story is predictable — the villains and heroes are apparent from the start. As the battle lines are drawn and the story unfolds there are few witty lines or surprises along the way. Despite the fact that the story lacks depth, as do the characters, there are at least nine reasons to see this film — George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle and Elliot Gould.

From the time that Clooney signed on as Danny Ocean, the lead character in the film, the Hollywood hype was that the entire cast took pay-cuts to ensure an A-list ensemble. The cast is indeed A-list in looks as well as talent, and the small paychecks seemed not to matter as the camaraderie and good will of the group came through on screen. Ocean's 11 is fun — that's the bottom line.

The film opens in New Jersey, as Ocean is getting out of the state penitentiary after serving time for a white-collar crime. His first stop — Atlantic City. His second stop — Las Vegas. With the help of his right-hand-man Dusty Ryan (Pitt), Ocean assembles a task force of 11 men to rob the vault of three Las Vegas casinos during an event night.

Steven Soderbergh directed the film.

Soderbergh, an independent filmmaker who actually made it in Hollywood, gained much respect after his success in 2000 with Erin Brockovich and Traffic — both of which were nominated for Best Film at the Academy Awards. Soderbergh won the Oscar for Best Director with Traffic. Although Ocean's 11 has a low-budget, independent, funky-camera-angle feel (a direct reflection of Soderbergh's style) it lacks the plot needed to garner another Oscar for Soderbergh.

This movie is the perfect diversion. It has its fair share of pretty people, good acting and adventure. Unfortunately, it doesn't offer much more than that.