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Ocean's Eight


Ocean's 8 (2018)
(58%)

Director: Gary Ross
Writers: Gary Ross, Olivia Milch
Stars: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway
Production Companies: Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures

I like heist movies. I like them quite a bit, actually, but it is a hard genre to make something that hasn't been done before. American Animals, I feel like, succeeded in doing a different kind of heist movie. Ocean's 8, however, is nothing special, at all. It's nothing new, and honestly it was not even as entertaining as I was hoping it would be.

Story: The story of Ocean's 8 follows Debbie Ocean as she gets released from prison and reveals that she's been planning a heist for several years. She then gathers a crew to execute the heist. There is some fun to be had here, as one of the most fun parts of heist movies is when the characters are planning and preparing for the heist. However, it all seems so, so easy. Anytime the characters hit a snag, or run into something that may be a problem, it's not really a problem. They brush it off and almost instantly have a solution that works. There is never a feeling that the heist won't work out, or that some road block may cause a real problem for anyone involved. There are also several attempts at humor, but most of it fell flat. My showing wasn't sold out, but it was fairly full and there were maybe two moments when the audience collectively chuckled. It also doesn't help that apart from the set up...I honestly didn't find this movie as fun as I expected to. The actual heist is somewhat entertaining, but nothing special, and the rest of the third act (after the heist sequence is over) is honestly kind of boring.

Characters: There is very little character development in this movie. It basically throws a crew at you and is like "They're all perfect at their jobs!", and that's about it. I didn't care about a single character.

Acting: Everyone involved does a great job, which is almost a given these days in most major releases.. Unsurprisingly, Sandra Bullock is the standout among the main crew.

Overall: Ocean's 8 is fine, I guess. Some people will enjoy it, some won't. It is cool that they had an all-female cast, but apart from that this movie is nothing to write home about.