Ocean's Twelve - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray [SteelBook]

Here's my controversial hot take about Steven Soderbergh's heist comedy sequel — or at least, I imagine my unpopular opinion might ruffle some feathers. I love Ocean's Twelve, and I think it is just as good as, if not better than, Ocean's Eleven, which is itself a superior remake of the original. And that irony — of one skillfully besting its predecessor — is the film's strength and strongest charm, using that energy to serve as a cleverly disguised commentary on the challenges of making a sequel at all. This is thematically encapsulated in the plot about the face-off between master thieves and revolving around George Clooney's Danny Ocean, Vincent Cassel's The Night Fox and Albert Finney's Gaspar LeMarc. And to carry out this score successfully requires the soft proficient touch of a master filmmaker and a top-notch crackerjack team, so Soderbergh reunites his crew for the difficult task of doing better, bigger and delivering the unexpected. 

As a movie about pulling off another profitable heist with the same crew, Twelve is just as stylish and glitzy while oozing coolness as the first entry, but I argue it's the better film because many aspects of the production seem to covertly comment on itself, loosely functioning as a movie about making a follow-up that's just as good as the first job. Soderbergh accomplishes the impossible, similar to stealing the Imperial Coronation Fabergé egg, by going meta and subverting audience expectations, as Ocean did to The Night Fox with some cunning sleight of hand trickery. In arguably one of the funniest, self-aware moments, we first see the team assemble to quarrel over a moniker that seems to prioritize Ocean's contributions above everyone else's — think Soderbergh as the auteur of the film while the rest of the production team, including the cast, are an afterthought. Later, the most obvious but nonetheless funny bit of self-awareness is Julia Roberts playing Tess Ocean playing Julia Roberts, clueing the audience in on the fact that we are in a farce within a farce about pulling off the greatest farce.

As with Ocean and his crew finding themselves in Europe to rob a priceless artifact, this is Soderbergh's first sequel to a massively successful movie. Like the characters locked in a contest in Europe with The Night Fox, the filmmakers are also out of their depth here. But they carry out an implausibly more elaborate and needlessly bigger heist than before because sequels are a kind of heist where it's expected to see much of the same, only bigger. They are an attempt to pull the rug from under the audience's feet while still giving us a movie that complements its predecessor yet manages to surprise. And the way I see it, Soderbergh succeeds in making a cleverly fun and cool follow-up that's just as good. (Movie Rating: 4.5/5)

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment brings Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Twelve to Ultra HD Blu-ray as a single-disc Limited Edition SteelBook, designed to look like a deck of cards. The package comes with a flyer for a Digital Copy, unlocking the 4K UHD version in Dolby Vision HDR with Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 audio. The triple-layered UHD100 disc sits comfortably inside an attractive SteelBook. At startup, the UHD goes straight to a static menu screen with the usual options along the bottom and music playing in the background.

Equipped with a fresh, snazzy remaster, the crew returns to the Ultra HD vault for another big score and some friendly thievish competition. Sporting a gorgeous, reference-quality HEVC H.265 encode, fine lines and objects are striking and sharply detailed throughout, from the small architectural features of the buildings and the individual stones on the road to the intricate particulars of the Fabergé egg. The native 4K transfer also displays a crisp, intense contrast balance, supplying clean, brilliant whites in the lights and the clothing while specular highlights add a tight, snappy pop in the hottest areas, allowing for better visibility in the far distance. Black levels are richer and more accurate with dark midnight shadows that never engulf finer details and penetrate deep into the screen, providing the 2.39:1 image with excellent dimensionality and an attractive cinematic appeal. Finally, the HDR10 presentation boasts a richly saturated and lively palette, bathing the comedy and locations in sumptuous primaries and dynamic secondary hues, and facial complexions appear healthy and natural with revealing, lifelike textures. Awash in a fine layer of grain to give a film-like quality, the sequel is simply gorgeous to watch. (HDR10 Video Rating: 96/100)

Much like the first Ocean's, the heist comedy breaks into home theaters with an excellent DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack that easily bests its lossy Dolby Digital competitor. Interestingly, the sound design of this feature is a noticeably much more front-heavy presentation than the first movie, but a few minor atmospherics discretely and effectively bleed into the surrounds, nicely expanding the soundfield. This is particularly true of David Holmes' score spread across the entire soundstage with its hip, jazzy energy, exhibiting a sharp, well-defined mid-range with impressive warmth and clarity. The low-end is also quite robust with an appreciable weightiness and heft in the music and the few bits of action. Being a character and dialogue-driven film, vocals are always precise and distinct with outstanding intonation and intelligibility in each of the performances. All in all, this lossless mix is a fantastic and highly engaging listen for a cleverly fun caper. (Audio Rating: 82/100)

As with the first movie, the same bonuses from previous home video releases are ported over for this UHD edition. (Supplements Rating: 1.5/5)

• Audio Commentary 
• Ready, Jet Set, Go (1080i/60, 26 min)
• Twelve is the New Eleven (1080i/60, 13 min)
• Deleted Scenes (1080i/60)

Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Twelve is a enjoyable and delightfully fun sequel that's arguably just as good, if not better, than the first entry that also functions as a clever commentary on the challenges of pulling another heist on moviegoers. With Catherine Zeta-Jones and Vincent Cassel joining the original ensemble cast, Ocean's crew reunite for another diverting, wildly entertaining and ultra-cool popcorn follow-up. The Ultra HD edition features a reference-quality 4K HDR10 presentation and a top-notch DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack. Although it features a disappointing collection of supplements, the UHD SteelBook makes for an easily Recommended addition to the library.

All disc reviews at High-Def Digest are completed using the best consumer HD home theater products currently on the market. More about the gear used for this review. 

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