The movie lacks the peaks and valley of the dramatic situation, a mark of a heist movie.
Movie: Ocean's 8
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchette, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Rihanna, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, James Corden, and Richard Armitage
Director: Gary Ross
Genre: Thriller Comedy
Duration: 1hr 50min
Story:
Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock), straight out of prison, hatches a heist to be executed at the Met Gala. Debbie is the sister of Danny Ocean we have come to know in the Ocean's trilogy before the all-female riff came out. She recruits her former partner in crime Lou (Cate Blanchett), a has-been, tax-evading fashion designer Rose (Helena Bonham Carter), a diamond jewellery maker Amita (Mindy Kaling), a hacker 'Nine Ball' (Rihanna), a pickpocketer named Constance (Awkwafina), and Tammy (Sarah Paulson) who retired from the game but still can't help stealing and hoarding. The job of these seven women is to steal a Cartier necklace from the delicate neck of doe-eyed, obnoxious-yet-insecure actress Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway). That's not all. The blame has to be pinned on her date Claude Baker (Richard Armitage) who's an ex-flame of Debbie and the reason she was in jail in the first place.
Review:
The movie follows the pattern of its predecessors. An Ocean comes out of the prison, meets their right-hand person, and together they recruit. For Danny it was the girl who motivated his first heist, for Debby it's a boy. Gender reversal and what have you... The film follows the formula to the T. Everything flows smoothly incorporating the latest techs of 3D printing, laser securities, digital locks, so on and so forth. All female-cast and the background of Met Gala lets the filmmakers play with the glamours outfits and accessories. Cate Blanchett's jackets and tailored pantsuits can easily become your wardrobe goals. The picturization of Met's costume institute is breathtaking if you appreciate the art.
From throwing a fake smile to mocking like a baby, Anne Hathaway shines in all of her scenes with the range of expression she plays with. Rihanna's deadpan joke delivery makes it criminal that her screentime was so less. Cate Blanchett is seriously underused. It's nice to see Sandra Bullock take charge, her return to the life outside prison begins with a mischief to make her day but that is the most exciting scene she gets to do. The lack of dramatic peaks and valleys in the second act of the film exposes the shortcomings of the script.
To make a heist film work for you, there needs to be an obstacle course the group should overcome. Ocean's 8 lacks those climatic crisis scenes that lead to heroic saves from the situation. There is no last-minute mess up and rescue. The third act of flashbacks and surprise reveal staggers and shocks nobody. The cast has actresses hailed in their field but that's what they remain. They are individual characters working towards a common goal and never become a well-oiled machine ready to devour, or a pack hunting in the group like the original team was. What disappoints more is the cause behind this venture is a man. More so when at the beginning of the recruting you hear Debbie reveal the reason she wants to do this.
"Because it is what I am good at."
Why not be a pure heist movie and instead of a petty boyfriend revenge?
So much for the all-female story. Ultimately it remains a mediocre gender-swapped version of Ocean's trilogy tied with a shiny bow.
Verdict:
A bland story can give only so much wiggle room even when you have Oscar-winning stars leading the film. Watch it once, or wait for streaming or Blu- Ray's to come out. You are not missing much.
Critic's Rating: 2.5/5
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