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

No risk is too high when the wager is retaliation, especially if one can manipulate the odds in their favor. Or at least, that's the central theme driving the plot of Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Thirteen, the third and final installment to the director's popular heist comedy franchise. As with the previous two entries, Soderbergh ups the ante with his usual posh and panache in yet another delightfully witty caper that sees our lovable band of con artists return to the City of Second Chances. And veiled beneath all the glitz and glamor is also more of that subtle self-awareness that made its predecessor a fun watch. This is made most apparent when Casey Affleck's Virgil says to Andy Garcia's Terry Benedict that they would never repeat the same stunt twice, which they actually kind of do but with a twist. In Brian Koppelman and David Levien's script, we see a few of the same tricks from the prior movies, except grander and more elaborate.

Only this time, the team pulls off one final score for altruistic motives, and instead of a casino's winnings, they're hitting where it really hurts: a person's pride. After Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould) is double-crossed by casino mogul Willy Bank (Al Pacino), the gang reunites to vindicate their friend by sabotaging the grand opening of Bank's latest hotel — a massive spiraling, egg-shaped monstrosity along the Las Vegas Strip. Although lacking the magnetism of Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones, the crew remain their charming selves with scene-stealing moments by Bernie Mac at a dominoes game and Affleck prompting a worker's strike in Mexico. Pacino is also memorable as an obnoxiously suave, villainous tycoon we enthusiastically sneer and boo at, but the standout is arguably Matt Damon in a prosthetic nose hilariously trying to smooth-talk Bank's assistant Abigail (Ellen Barkin). This third installment is an amusing madcap finish to one of the best film trilogies ever produced. (Movie Rating: 4/5)

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment brings Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Thirteen 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.

The third film in the trilogy makes its grand opening on Ultra HD, looking quite dapper and handsome, and it is arguably the best of the bunch with several demo-worthy moments. However, a few instances of mild aliasing in extreme wide and establishing shots of the city keep this HEVC H.265 encode just shy of reference quality. Nevertheless, the native 4K transfer comes with outstanding, razor-sharp definition of the casino interiors and city streets while the details in the clothing, furniture and felt of the tables are distinct. A spot-on and well-balanced contrast and brightness delivers brilliant, spotless whites while specular highlights supply a crisp, luminous sparkle to the glowing, frenzied lighting of the casinos. Rich midnight blacks penetrate deep into the screen with dark, inky shadows that never ruin the finer details, and facial complexions appear accurate to the climate and highly revealing with outstanding lifelike textures in medium close-ups and even mid-shots. The heavily-stylized cinematography is beautifully augmented by the HDR10 grading, washing the 2.39:1 image in deep, lush reds and cool, ornate blues while also bathing in richly-saturated fiery oranges and vibrant golden yellows. Awash in a fine layer of natural grain, the film-like presentation is top-notch. (HDR10 Video Rating: 94/100 or 4.5/5)

As with the previous two movies, the audio for Thirteen has also been upgraded to a terrifically satisfying DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack. The front-heavy design displays a wide and spacious soundstage with lots of convincing activity in the background and effortless movement between the channels and into the off-screen space. Several ambient effects, mainly those taking place inside The Bank Hotel, flawlessly pan into the surrounds with the hustle and bustle of the casino, nicely expanding the soundfield, and the receivers' Dolby Surround or DTS: Neural:X up-mixing functionality further extends a few of those atmospherics overhead with subtlety and ease. All the while, imaging maintains outstanding definition and clarity into the higher frequencies, supplying Stephen Mirrione's score with appreciable warmth and detailed fidelity, and the low-end is surprisingly robust and palpable on a few occasions. With excellent, precise dialogue reproduction at all times, this new lossless mix is the perfect complementary piece to this fun and gratifying third entry. (Audio Rating: 88/100 or 4.5/5)

Once again, the same bonuses from previous home video releases are ported over for this UHD edition. (Supplements Rating: 2/5)

• Audio Commentary 
• Masters of the Heist (HD, 44 min)
• Third's a Charm: The Making of (HD, 30 min)
• Ahab with a Piggyback: The Means & Machines of Ocean's (HD, 9 min)
• Jerry Weintraub Walk and Talk (HD, 2 min)
• Deleted Scenes (HD)

Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Thirteen is a delightfully madcap finish to one of the best film trilogies ever produced. With Al Pacino as the obnoxiously suave, villainous tycoon we gladly want to sneer and boo at, Ocean's crew reunite for the timeworn "one final big score." Except that instead of stealing a casino's winnings, our lovable gang of con artists are hitting where it really hurts: a person's pride. The Ultra HD edition features a demo-worthy 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.

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