Ocean's 8

Ocean's 8, to the surprise of many, has avoided a lot of the typical trolling from the internet that usually surrounds an all-female soft reboot of a genre film. 

Granted, maybe we only have Ghostbusters as a big example to go off, but regardless I have been pleasantly surprised to see this film (at least to my knowledge) have a lot of good will with mainstream audiences. 

It's an exciting group of cast mates and while I don't think anyone was clamoring for a sequel to the Ocean's franchise, it's an intriguing spin for the con/heist sub-genre.

The trailers never really "wowed" me for this one (other than being very well edited) so this was ultimately one that I went to for the star power alone.

With Ocean's 8, there's no long-con or surprise ace up its sleeve here because star power is what you get, and not much else. Sandra Bullock plays the sister, Debbie Ocean, to George Clooney's previous Ocean character. I can't recall if he ever mentioned her before so it's kind of a "Huh, ok..." and move-on type of explanation. Cate Blanchett is along for the ride too along with Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling, Rihanna, and Awkwafina (whoever that is). There's a clear drop off in star power there where I imagine they had to get some cheap additions who wanted to bask in the stardom of the more A-list women, but even still, that's a hell of a cast. 

So it's a bit of a bummer then that Ocean's 8 settles so hard with just existing in the first place. It's full of mediocrity at every turn that, yes, does make for a semi-entertaining one-time view but that's it. The film, which could have perhaps done some self reflection or poke fun at itself, is just there and it makes for a very superficial time at the theater. 

A wonderful duo...of FASHION!

Ever since I landed on this planet,
I've been waiting for the rest of humanity!

Part of me was waiting for the comedy to be dialed way up or for there to be a twist of left-field proportions. I feel like that's some of what we got with the original trilogy even though the quality of those tended to go downhill too. Honestly I do wonder/think what a R-rated Ocean's 8 comedy would have been like -- or at least one with more than a handful of laughs. It would have felt new and fresh for this series and probably been a hoot to watch given the star power. Similarly with the overall plot. The initial premise to steal an expensive necklace at the MET Gala is interesting, but it truly doesn't go much further than that with hardly any real conflict thrown in for good measure.

Truthfully, complaining or even criticizing Ocean's 8 feels wrong because it's so well intentioned and just seems "happy to be here". My theater certainly enjoyed themselves and I know I didn't regret seeing it in any way. The cast is undoubtedly phenomenal as I've already alluded too and they are fun here. Cate Blanchett and Anne Hathaway were my standouts with the latter nearly stealing the show with her daft, vapid "performance" of a A-list star similar to herself in real life. No one does bad here, which makes it all the more difficult to accept the comfortable B/B- paper that got turned in. We know Sandra Bullock can be funny, so let her be funny. Blanchett's character is highly captivating with her fashion alone and we all know she can act. So let her act. It ends up feeling like a fun assortment of talent that largely goes wasted, especially by its biggest players. 

"What did Rath's Reviews say about us?"
I wish ^^

Reading over this review I realized that most of it is criticizing and again, that feels weird for this particular film. But simply put, it's really just "there". For some movies that's totally ok and I think to be expected. For an all-female Ocean's 8 with a cast as high-profile as this one, I think it can only be considered a letdown that this is, potentially, what a "best" attempt looks like. I for one would love to see a sequel with this group and much, much more focus on being a stand-out of the series. Something funny, with true drama and conflict and more fleshed out characters than just a big name attached to a personality in a con-scheme.

CONS

• Simply just exists and doesn't really try to be amazing at anything
• Not all that funny
• Almost completely void of any conflict
• Feels like wasted talent
• Forgettable

PROS

• An amazing cast all around that all do well here
• Anne Hathaway and Cate Blanchett are my highlights, but Bullock is a strong lead
• Unique heist attempt at the MET Gala
• Perhaps odd for me to being saying, but there was some fun fashion throughout. Again, Blanchett gets the biggest shout out here
• Entertaining, if only for a single viewing

Rath's Review Score | 6.5/10