Ocean's 8

Ocean's 8 (3 out of 5 stars).

Ocean's 8 is a spin off from the reboot Ocean's trilogy starring George Clooney. And an all female cast of a spin off. I was not a huge fan of the Ocean's trilogy. The first one was eh. The second was okay. And the third one was a lot of fun. Now, this spin off does not improve over the original trilogy. It was decent. The cast ensemble was good. The plot brings in Danny (George Clooney) sister who is played by Sandra Bullock. She gets out of prison and plans her next heist of stealing diamond necklace that is worth 150 million dollars. I did feel like this film was lacking in fun and stand out characters.

The plot follows Debbie (Sandra Bullock) who is out of prison. She plans her next heist of stealing a diamond necklace that has not been seen by the public's eye. She needs the help from Lou (Cate Blanchett), Amita (Mindy Kaling), Tammy (Sarah Paulson), Constance (Awkwafina), Nine Ball (Rihanna), and Rose (Helena Bonham Carter). The team will try to use a fashion model Daphne (Anne Hathaway) to sponsor in wearing the diamond necklace at a fashion event.

The original trilogy at least stood out for its quirky fun humor and interesting characters. Ocean's 8 is missing out on that opportunity. We get Debbie Ocean, who cons her way to get what she wants. She cons the hotel receptionist to getting a free room, a fragrance store customer service, ect. Lou is Debbie's partner in crime that will always be by her side and helps to organize this team. Amita is a jeweler expert. Tammy is a suburban mom, who has lots of over stock supplies of home appliances in her garage. Constance is a pick-pocking thief. Nine Ball is a hacker. And Rose is the fashion designer and awkward in person. The cast that plays these characters are great choices. But the script does miss the opportunity in making these characters interesting and lacking in fun humor. We get more fun humor from James Corden's character that shows up in the dead end of the second act playing an insurance investigator.

The concept and plot was okay. It adds nothing new to the serious. Besides Debbie's desire to challenge herself into stealing a high price jewelry that has private security guards a few feet away. And there are a couple of twists, which does not give the surprise factor at all. Plus there are a couple of cameos from the original trilogy. I was really hoping for more that could have made it fun at least.

Gary Ross direction with the film is slightly dull. It does not have the fun energy like the previous films. It is a heist movie that seems like it is bored with its script.

Overall, Ocean's 8 is a fair heist film. The cast ensemble was great and the plot was decent and entertaining. It just was lacking the energetic direction and has uninteresting characters which can be a little boring at times.

This movie lacked personality. You didn't get the character development that it needed. The heist was good but lacked suspense. It ended pretty abruptly. It could have used more humor.

Fun moments in this movie, but overall things happen without much of a reason for us to care.

It's a fine movie. Just fine.

Regardless of the concept, I've always been intrigued every time a new heist movie makes it to the big screen. The sheer notion of watching a group of people flawlessly pull off something that most people would be crazy to attempt is quite entertaining for many reasons. Ocean's 8 is the latest film of its kind to hit theatres and with the weight of the previous trilogy on its shoulders, there was a high bar to meet. I'm a huge fan of the previous remake of Ocean's Eleven and while neither of the sequels quite match the quality of it, I was hoping Ocean's 8 would steer this franchise in a new direction. While I did enjoy watching this movie, for the most part, I did find myself pretty disappointed by it as a whole. I can't quite recommend this movie as a great film, but if you're a fan of the franchise, here's why you may find some enjoyment in its latest addition.

Ocean's 8 follows the sister of Danny Ocean (George Clooney from the previous films) in Debbie Ocean, as she is released from prison and has plotted to rob the Met Gala in New York City. The plan is to steal a necklace that's worth over 150 million dollars, so naturally, she finds a group of women who are very interested in helping out. All having their quirks, they each become a necessity in accomplishing this task. Quite honestly, aside from the first film, this was probably my favorite heist sequence when looking back at the franchise, but if that's all the movie has to offer, then a lot will be left to be desired.

A slow build up is fine if your climax pays off in a big way and for that alone, I found a lot of enjoyment from the movie as a whole. The very meticulous plan makes for an engaging climax and I was sucked into the movie until the very end. That being said, the first act of the movie nearly put me to sleep. This movie takes a very long time to peak your interest. Yes, there are a few interesting characters and some humorous moments will keep you interested, but I didn't find those elements to be enough. I found myself breathing a huge sigh of relief when the actual heist began because the movie didn't seem to have a pulse until that point. Luckily, the dull moments were held together by some likable actresses.

From Sandra Bullock to Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway to Sarah Paulson, and even Rihanna to Mindy Kaling, everyone had their moment to shine here and I was having a blast watching these characters interact with one another. Sadly, those moments are few and far between. These actresses give their all with what they're given, but the script (aside from the plotting of the climax itself) just felt a little generic. A group of women gets together to do a heist and the circumstances are very much the same as the first film in the franchise. Nothing new was brought to the table, which was the one thing I was hoping for with this movie.

Fans of the franchise may have some fun with the movie when it truly kicks into high gear, as I surely did, but the overall movie is frankly average. In particular, I found some of the unique editing choices to be slightly cheesy and I'm not sure if the movie's style worked all that much. The pacing is off in many places and it seems as though music is used throughout the first act to liven up a scene and prevent it from being boring. For all of these reasons and more, I can't quite recommend this movie to many viewers, but if you enjoy watching a good heist, that portion of this film is worth the price of admission in my opinion. While it's not something you have to rush out and see at the cinema, Ocean's 8 is worth renting.

There were a few laughs and maybe one twist, but otherwise there just wasn't anything special about this script. The main thing that was special was having that many fabulous actresses in one film.