Even women can be
cool and smooth criminals if they want to be. And in “Ocean’s
Eight” they are. In this latest franchise “reboot,” though it’s
more of a spin-off, we learn that steely cool con-man Danny Ocean is
dead and that con-men run in the family. His sister Debbie (Sandra
Bullock) is just being released from a five year prison sentence and
has her sights on a prize: The Met Gala. She gets her equally cool
gal pal Lou (Cate Blanchett in the “secondhand man” role carved
out by Brad Pitt except she isn’t eating something in literally
every scene) and a team of women together to rob the expensive jewels
off the neck of famous actress Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway, doing
her best diva impression). The entire film is basically following
these women as they concoct a completely crazy and unbelievable set
of circumstances that will lead to them walking away with millions of
dollars worth of priceless jewels. And it is fascinating to watch.
The Ocean’s films
have always been about fun. At least the first one was. Watching
these guys pull of such crazy cons and a seemingly impossible heist
was part of the charm. Steven Soderbergh’s sequels, however, took
all the fun out and made things overly complicated and overstuffed
with extra characters no on cared about. A reserved cast of eight con
women is much more digestible. This time Gary Ross takes the reigns
from Soderbergh (who’s still a producer) and injects a tad more
diversity to the proceedings. Ross and co-writer Olivia Milch’s
script is tight and exciting.
The story is so fun
to watch unfold that for the entire film I forgot that there really
wasn’t much conflict. In the original film, Danny wants to rob a
specific guy, here these ladies just want the money; or at least that
what it seems. There is a whole subplot about the reason Debbie was
sent to prison after all. Of course, that doesn’t mean there isn’t
moments of suspense and tension. One sequence in which Mindy Kaling’s
character is close to being caught is squirm-worthy. Speaking of
which, every character gets their moment to shine. Helena Bonham
Carter easily slips into the roll of a crazy, overwhelmed fashion
designer. Sarah Paulson is a suburban mom but hasn’t quite left a
life of crime. Rihanna is the genius computer hacker and Awkwafina is
the fantastic pickpocket. And some other familiar faces show up as
well.
“Ocean’s Eight”
is a great success for anyone who thought the previous entries began
to lose their sense of fun and focus. Sure this isn’t a perfect
film; sometimes things fall a little too neatly into place but you
can’t fault the ensemble's strong presence and their likable
characterizations. There have been countless heist films and this is
just another one that happens to get more right than wrong. Can’t
wait for number Nine. GRADE: B+
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