It was never going to be easy following the original Ocean’s films. The smooth-talking trio of Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and George Clooney were an unbeatable combination. The franchise’s original director Steven Soderbergh had stepped aside, giving way to Hunger Games director Gary Ross.
The overall premise of the film centres around Debbie Ocean (played by Sandra Bullock), the sister of recently deceased Danny Ocean. She with the help of her good friend Lou (Cate Blanchett) assemble a ragtag team of con artists in the hopes of pulling off one of the greatest jewellery heists ever attempted.
The movie had huge possibilities of being a success, with Oscar winners, a Grammy winner, and an Emmy winner all coming together. Unfortunately, the cast wasn’t used to their full potential. Comedic genius Mindy Kaling barely made you crack a smile, and Anne Hathaway’s character was mildly annoying. Some plot holes in the writing came to fruition, especially when considering the random, seemly important checklist that Bullock’s character holds tight to her chest. We never find out what, who or why this checklist even exists, however references are made to it throughout the film by multiple characters. Sandra Bullock is great as Debbie Ocean and Helena Bonham Carter’s insecure portrayal of a failed fashion designer on the verge of a mental breakdown really brings the movie up a notch.
Ocean’s 8 is a good movie but not great. Anyone who is familiar with the original films will be able to figure out the plot twist reasonably early, and the cast will never shine as much as you want them to. It’s the type of movie you watch when your hungover and wanna scroll through Instagram while not having to pay too much attention to what’s going on.
