This post comes out a fair bit of time after the movie release, but it’s taken me a while to put my thoughts together, and I saw it twice, so I feel like I have more insight into how I feel about the film. So you’re thinking, she has seen it twice – so does it mean it’s a good movie? Not necessarily… read on!
Ocean’s 8 follows on from the original Ocean’s films: 11, 12, and 13. In this movie, Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock), sister of the now-deceased Danny Ocean, is whom we see first, reminiscent of the first few scenes of Ocean’s 11. Debbie is released from jail after five years – for a crime we’ll learn more about through the course of this movie – and soon goes back to her con-woman ways. She re-unites with her friend Lou (Cate Blanchett) who’s busy running a club and diluting vodka, and pitches her a heist. A heist of a piece of jewellery by Cartier, currently in a highly guarded vault. The idea is to get movie star Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway) to wear the Cartier necklace for the upcoming Met Gala, and then steal the piece there. So begins the assembly of the team: fashion designer Rose Weil (Helena Bonham Carter), jeweller Amita (Mindy Kaling), weed-smoking hacker Nine Ball (Rihanna), hustler Constance (Awkwafina), and ex-associate and now-bored homemaker Tammy (Sarah Paulson). And so begins the story of how they do it…with a twist in the end. There’s also a sub-plot about revenge on Debbie’s ex Claude Becker (Richard Armitage) floating about.
If you have watched the Ocean’s movies before, you’ll know there’s a certain pattern that follows. Team assesses the situation, encounters a few roadblocks, solves ’em, heist in progress, twist, fun end. OK.
While there were quite a few fun performances, the standout for me was Anne Hathaway, who just stole the show as the petulant, extravagant and pouty film star. Bullock was a calm, calculated Ocean, while Blanchett’s punk rock biker girl personality was brilliant. Bonham Carter and Paulson got a decent amount of screen time (the accent was all over the place, I thought), but it was frustrating for me to not get enough of Rihanna, Kaling or Awkwafina. They didn’t get much to do or show more of their personalities beyond the plotline.
The plot. OK, I mentioned this earlier, but while it sticks to the tried-and-tested formula, which is FINE, what it doesn’t do is give me a sense of urgency, like the previous Ocean’s movie did. As soon as a problem cropped up, it was solved immediately. No stress. Nothing. I can think of a couple of points where I thought, hang on, surely this isn’t *this* easy.
The other niggle I had was related to the actual relationships portrayed on-screen. I didn’t feel like the team bonded, or showed that they did, and it didn’t give me the ‘buddy’ movie vibe that I thought I’d get.
However, the movie was still fun for most part. I don’t know that I should have watched it the second time because I definitely enjoyed it more the first time around. But, what it does show is that it doesn’t matter whether you have male front runners or female, a movie can still be a heck of a lot of fun, engaging, and can fill cinemas and draw multiple laughs. So here’s to more diversity on screen!
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