Review of Ocean's Eight (2018) by James R — 22 Jun 2018

Ocean's Eight (2018) {2/5 Stars}.

Not entirely sure why they made this movie after Ocean's Thirteen (2007) was such a good sendoff for the original trilogy, but hey here's what we got. Ocean's Eight is a spinoff film featuring Danny Oceans sister Debbie (Sandra Bullock). Debbie is released from prison after a 5 year stint in there and decides to get back into her thievery life style. She meets back up with her old partner Lou (Cate Blanchett) and the two devise a plan to steal a very rare diamond necklace named the "Toussiant" which will be worn by famous actress Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway). The two ladies recruit 5 other women including the designer Rose Well (Helena Bonham Carter), a jewelry expert Amita (Mindy Kaling), a hacker named Nina Ball (Rihanna), a pickpocket named Constance (Awkwafina) and then an old ally that's good at infiltration and obtaining things Tammy (Sarah Paulson). Together they form...Ocean's 7? (obvious twist in that whole thing there).

Anyways the movie is about pulling the heist and really thats it. It has some decent moments for the heist, but it's ruined by poor writing, bad character development/chemistry and an ending that was an absolute mess! So first off this isn't directed by the original trilogies director the great Steven Soderbergh. Gary Ross known for the first Hunger Games (2012), Seabiscuit (2003) and Pleasantville (1998). Dudes a good director, but man was he trying really hard to capture the coolness and vibes of the Ocean's Trilogy. It just doesn't work here. The Ocean's Trilogy had dare I say it a much better cast. All stars in their own right. Don't get me wrong we have some great actresses here, but outside of 3 of the ladies most people would not know the other women right off the back (was Jennifer Lawrence busy?).

The film also has a very uninteresting main character. Debbie has a very similar motive that Danny had in Oceans Eleven (2001) where not only is there a heist going on, but she has another motive altogether involving a past lover. The movie doesn't give us any more info on her that made me like or care about her too. You'd think with Lou being her supposed best friend we'd get a bit more, but while Cate Blanchett is great here (arguably the best one) she's underused and doesn't do much. The twist in the film is not that great either. On top of all that there's two cameos in here from the Original Trilogy and I wont spoil it, but both were pretty uninteresting as well. The ending though! Let me get to the ending. It's like they decided to shoot 3 different scenes with James Corden playing an insurance agent named John Frazier....who kinda comes out of nowhere! Anywho, they shot the scenes and couldn't decide on a proper ending, so they decided..."Hey lets just put em all in!" So the ending is a mess we have a scene in a diner that seems like it should have just been left out it moves the plot nowhere and just adds more context to absolutely nothing! I forgot to add this movie has no real "villain" Cordens character would have actually worked, but we meet him in the last ten minutes of the movie! It's about the same length as the other Ocean's films, but it feels really short. It ended and I literally said, "That's it?".

Skip this one. Rent it if you're interested or enjoyed the other Ocean's films. It tries too hard to try and be something it is and was done much better a decade ago.