Ocean's Twelve...Actually a World-Building Exercise?

Okay, so I know Ocean's Twelve gets a lot of flak. People say it's not as good as the first one, too convoluted, blah blah. And yeah, maybe it doesn't have the same tight focus. But hear me out... I think director Steven Soderbergh was low-key using it as a world-building exercise. Think about it. Ocean's Eleven was a meticulously planned heist, self-contained. Twelve throws that all out the window and expands the universe. We're suddenly not just dealing with Danny Ocean's tight-knit crew, but a whole network of international thieves, insurance investigators who are basically Sherlock Holmes, and the whole European high-society scene. Specifically, the Toulour character (the "Night Fox") is pure world-building fuel. The way he operates, the challenges he presents, even his motivations are like mini-stories waiting to be told. And the whole running theme of 'who's the better thief?' sets up so many potential conflicts beyond just Danny and Rusty. Remember that scene where Toulour effortlessly scales the building? It's not just showing off; it's implying a completely different skillset and style than anything we saw in the first movie. Plus, the addition of Isabel Lahiri (Catherine Zeta-Jones), the Europol agent who (spoiler alert!) is Rusty's ex? That's backstory goldmine. I get why people were disappointed; the original was so polished. But I think Twelve is more interesting from a lore perspective. It's like, Eleven gave us the rules, and Twelve is all about breaking them and exploring what's beyond those rules. Are there 'Ocean's' crews all over the world? What are the politics of the international theft scene? Who's at the top, pulling the strings? We don’t get answers, but Twelve asks the questions. I could see a whole spin-off series emerging from just some of the concepts introduced in this single film. Maybe I'm just a sucker for expanding universes, but I think Ocean's Twelve is unfairly judged. It's not just a heist movie; it's a glimpse into a really cool, complex, and potentially HUGE, underworld. And honestly, that itself makes it a great watch in my book.