Ocean's Eight - movie review

Ocean's Eight

Plot: Debbie Ocean gathers an all-female crew to attempt an impossible heist at New York City's yearly Met Gala.
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway
Director: Gary Ross
Certificate: 12A (infrequent strong language, drug misuse, sex references)
Runtime: 1hr 50 mins
Release Date: Monday 18th June 2018

In 2007, Danny Ocean and twelve of his compatriots robbed Al Pacino of over $500 million dollars, went their separate ways and that was the last we'd see of the Ocean's franchise. Or so we thought. Eleven years later, it's time to gear up for another elaborate heist but this time round, the ladies are in charge. With an all female "sequel", Ocean's Eight has the glitz, glamour and the stars worthy to earn its title. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the entertainment factor.

They know that football's coming home!

Without a doubt, the most impressive feature of Ocean's Eight is the cast. Gary Ross and his team have gone above and beyond to hire eight of the best A-listers Hollywood has to offer. Bullock. Blanchett. Hathaway. Kaling. Paulson. Awkwafina. Rihanna. Bonham Carter. All identifiable by their surnames, the chemistry among the cast is exactly what's needed for this franchise. They each bounce off one another brilliantly as they shares quips, jokes and banter but also share a common goal that they're trying to achieve. Sadly, I feel like Ocean's Eight is a film that the cast had a lot of fun filming but alas, I didn't have as much fun watching. The cast are all game, or at least most of them are. Bullock is a confident lead and always an enjoyable screen presence. Her conviction to the role of Debbie Ocean helps drive the team, and film, along giving the heist itself a purpose to exist. Her closest ally, similar to Brad Pitt's relationship with George Clooney, is Cate Blanchett's, biker gal and club owner, Lou. By far and large, Lou is the most interesting character in the line-up and you can tell Blanchett is having a blast. Helena Bonham Carter and Sarah Paulson certainly play it safe with their roles (the former as a kooky fashion designer and the latter as a calm, sophisticated and clever businesswoman) but they both deliver when the film calls upon them. I wish I could continue praising the rest of the team however, the other members aren't anywhere near as memorable or impressive. Anne Hathaway, who is clearly giving a performance that is trying to go for the meta-humour route, falls flat on its face. Hathaway plays a spoilt, uptight Hollywood actress who is the mark for the jewellery heist but whereas the character herself is supposed to appear irritating and annoying, it's Hathaway herself that gradually becomes insufferable to watch. The same goes for Rihanna but whilst Hathaway is going overboard, Rihanna looks as if she wants to be anywhere other than on set whilst her agent continues trying to book her roles to continue the Rihanna enterprise. So far, it isn't working. As for Mindy Kaling and Awkwafina, they fail to leave any imprint on the film. Kaling hardly seems necessary whatsoever apart from one moment that the film decides to explicitly state is her one and only reason for joining the team, and Awkwafina's performance is less than stellar. I'm really concerned that Hollywood are going to try and make her this next big comedic force and shove her down our throats (humanely) film after film. If that is the case, she's not off to a brilliant start. The problem lies in the fact that, in the past Ocean's films, every member of their crew had a distinct personality and contributed more than one skill to the heist. In Ocean's Eight, some of the crew lacked the all important individuality and most of them were only needed for one or two key reasons rendering their place in the crew pointless compared to others that seemed to carry it all on their shoulders.

Awkwafina preparing for Now You See Me 3.

FACT: The eight main cast has won four Oscars, two Emmys, nine Grammys, six Golden Globes, five BAFTAs, and ten SAGs combined.

To the film's credit, there's no dilly-dallying or wasting time. We meet Debbie just as she's being released from prison and not once do we get any elongated scenes as she adjusts back to an everyday life. From the moment she steps foot outside the jail cell, her plan is already in motion and the entire film is the preparation for the heist and then the heist itself. With Steven Soderbergh not returning to helm the feature, Gary Ross steps in behind the lens, and whilst he can't perfect the style that Soderbergh spread across his trilogy, Ross is willing to give it his best shot with an energetic score by Daniel Pemberton, 1950s and 60s screen wipes and ultra-zooms, and the glitz and glam that make the film a visual delight. From the costumes to the lavish set design, everything about this movie feels expensive. Unfortunately, when it comes to the actual heist, tension took a holiday. Heist movies have certain rules that they can't help but follow. One MAJOR rule is that, no matter how detailed the original plan is, part of that plan must go wrong and the crew have to adapt and quickly find a solution. It's a simple and brilliant way for filmmakers to draw out the tension but it appears Ocean's Eight missed the memo. Whenever a problem arose and seemed to cause the crew to deviate from their original plan, there would conveniently be a short, simple and rapid solution that fixed it immediately and the plan could continue without breaking a sweat. It was all TOO easy which sucked the fun out of the whole film. In one sequence, when the crew encounter a problem with how to remove the all important necklace, Rihanna solves that issue in the very next scene. Furthermore, once the heist is over, the film decides to keep on going. And going. And going. And go on some more. I was convinced it was about to outdo Return Of The King for the most amount of potential endings. James Corden briefly appears for a reason neither I nor the team that wrote this script can decipher and, despite the fact that I usually like Corden as a personality, his appearance in this film feels utterly out of place. He plays an Insurance Fraud Investigator but from the moment he stepped on screen, all I saw was James Corden filming a sketch for his chat show.

Clearly this wasn't shot during rush hour.

Even though no one was exactly calling for this to even exist, Ocean's Eight isn't as bad as Twelve but it's not at the standard I expect from the franchise. The star studded cast work well together, although some clearly fell behind, and despite his best intentions, Gary Ross didn't have the oomph to drive the film across the finish line. No to mention that a big twist the movie saves for one of its many conclusions, is literally spoiled in the poster.

My Verdict: 5.5/10

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