Review: Ocean's 8

“Insert witty dialogue here… no seriously, please…. Some witty dialogue!”

The Ocean’s movies tread a fine line between being cool, and being boring. It’s a balancing act, as you try to weave a complicated and convoluted plot, into a glossy fast paced film that doesn’t require people to think, but to leave the theatre thinking that they were thinking.

Ocean’s 11 worked perfectly. Ocean’s 12 did not. Ocean’s 13 re-found some of the magic, especially as it returned to similar settings as the first one.

Whilst this is just a set photo, the glum facial expressions kinda linger in the film as well.

And now we have the fourth film, but not quite the fourth film. It’s kinda a reboot, but its not… you get it. It wants to play in the same universe, but be its own thing.

Remember the grubby train scenes in Oceans 11? No?

The problem is, it isn’t really its own thing, and it borrows a lot from the previous films. What it didn’t borrow however, was a great script and storyline.

The plot is very pedestrian and has many moments of roll your eyes contrivances. But worst of all, the chemistry between the cast isn’t there, and the dialogue lacks any real spark, energy or comedic timing. The setting also lacked the type of background you’d expect for an Oceans movie, with drab buildings and scenes outside in the rain or in front of bleak backgrounds. None of the glitz of Vegas that the previous films were so good at.

Sandra Bullock doesn’t quite connect in the lead role. Where so often Bullock carries a film so well, here she is more measured than usual and doesn’t quite have enough to do in order to replace George Clooney in the main role. Cate Blanchet doesn’t feel like the right choice to play opposite Bullock, and their partnership really struggles to produce any warmth the way Clooney and Pitt did in three movies. The rest of the cast are fairly forgettable too, except for Anne Hathaway, who feels far more energetic than the rest and makes many scenes much more worth your time.

Rihanna proves that she can be in a movie.... as in... she's there... in a movie...

The score tries hard to remind you it’s an ocean’s film, but the music doesn’t really land in the right groove to set up the mood and atmosphere that the film requires.

Speaking of time, the whole thing plods along very slowly, especially the first half, and then falls apart towards the end as it fails to really stick the landing.

And the lack of a Clooney cameo was also very disappointing.

The five bearded questions:

1. Was it worth a cinema trip? No, Netflix this one.

2. Would I See It Again at the Cinema? No.

3. Would I buy it on Blu-ray: (only films I really love get bought these days) No. 4. Do I Recommend people see it? No,

5. Any cheese/ Disney style bullshit?: (such as jokes wedged in at serious moments, because fun!). No, but it lacked a lot of humour.