Film review: Ocean’s Eight (2018), directed by Gary Ross
Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) has spent the past few years in prison, thanks to being stitched up by a dodgy art dealer Claude Becker (Richard Armitage), but she hasn’t been idle. Sister of Danny Ocean (I haven’t seen Ocean’s Thirteen so I don’t know what happened in it), Debbie is also a professional thief, and she has the perfect heist planned.
Getting together with her old partner in crime, Lou (Cate Blanchett), the two set out to recruit the people they’re going to need to pull off the heist: stealing a big diamond necklace during the Met Gala. First they need a desperate enough fashion designer (Helena Bonham Carter) to design a dress, and bit dim actress (Anne Hathaway) to wear it and who is famous enough to lure Cartier to lend her the necklace. They also need a jeweller (Mindy Kaling), a hacker (Rihanna), a pickpocket (Awkwafina) and someone to fence the stolen goods (Sarah Paulson). It’s a risky proposition, but can they pull it off?
I quite enjoy Ocean’s Eleven, and judging by my pile of draft posts, I have also seen Ocean’s Twelve at some point but forgot to write the actual review while I still had any recollection of it. It’s safe to say I enjoy the Ocean’s film series. A good heist movie is always fun, right? This more recent female-led version is a lot of fun too. I love Sandra Bullock just in general, she’s an incredible comedic actress, and here she’s joined forces with a number of other amazing actors, so you can’t really go wrong.
As heist films go, I guess you could say it’s pretty standard. Plan the thing, recruit the people you need to pull off the thing, do the thing, get away with having done the thing. It’s not even a spoiler to admit that’s how this ends, it’s how the genre works, and it’s why you watch heist movies in the first place. You know they’re going to succeed, but you don’t know what’s going to happen on the way, or exactly how it’s going to play out. And I didn’t know how this was going to play out, which made it all the more fun!
Being an old fan of Richard Armitage’s, it’s nice to see him in a film like this, and I’m pleased that his character gets comparatively ample screen time considering he isn’t a main character.
James Corden seems to have found his calling in the US, hosting a night time talk show and all (taking over from Craig Ferguson), but here he plays an insurance investigator trying to prove an Ocean’s behind the necklace theft, even though she was in plain view throughout and therefore couldn’t have done it.
Ahh, anyway.
Ocean’s Eight was so much good fun I’m hoping there will be an Ocean’s Nine as well, but that doesn’t seem likely.
4 out of 5 garages full of “eBay purchases”.
