By Pat Sisson

After shady Vegas hotelier Willy Bank (Al Pacino) double-crosses their friend, Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and crew -- Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, et al -- set out for revenge. Bank has broken the code of trust among guys who shook Sinatra's hand and deserves to be fleeced. Their audacious scheme to break the Bank -- a spiraling set of gleaming glass towers on the Strip -- during its grand opening runs into a snag when it's revealed Willy's dream casino boasts an eye-in-the-sky computer system that is the HAL-9000 of casino security. More cash is needed to fund the operation, so Ocean turns to nemesis Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) for help.

Unlike Tom Cruise's hanging-by-a-thread stunts in Mission: Impossible, you won't see a single drop of sweat with this photogenic crew in action, even in the middle of the arid neon desert. The Ocean crew's plans are blueprinted and bullet-pointed early on, so the thrills come from their stylish execution. On that front, the returning cast is as sharp and crisp as their designer shirts. The new additions are a mixed bag -- Brit comedian Eddie Izzard entertains as a suave security expert and Ellen Barkin is a believable cougar. But when the normally fiery Pacino suits up and plays it cool, he becomes too reserved at the cost of his personality.

Befitting the series' surface sheen, the cinematography is luscious and the fictional Bank Casino looks impeccable. More importantly, the dialogue here is much tighter and more entertaining than in Ocean's Twelve. When Ocean's con man Virgil Malloy (Casey Affleck) infiltrates a dice-making factory in Mexico and stirs up labor unrest preaching Zapata's revolution, it's hilarious. The old Vegas truism that better trash talking and bluffing make for a more entertaining game applies here. Watching Ocean's Thirteen feels like sitting in on a bullshit session with Hollywood royalty. As far as summer escapism goes, how much better can it get?