Rated PG-13 | 110 mins.
Directed by Gary Ross
Starring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter
Between all of the incredibly talented women depicted on screen in Ocean's 8, they have multiple Oscars, Emmys, and GRAMMYs. It only made sense for the casting director to poach nothing but the best for this all-women spin-off of the Ocean's Eleven trilogy. What's admirable about this specific casting is that they didn't just stick to the usual film actresses. They branched out to get TV actresses (Kaling, Paulson), a former stage actress (Bonham Carter), an unknown rapper-turned-actress (Awkwafina), and one of the biggest pop stars on the planet (Rihanna). That alone makes this particular movie appealing. Just seeing how they interact with one another and how they play off each other was riveting.
Now is this heist comedy any different from its predecessors? Not really. It's pretty unoriginal to say the least. Danny Ocean's sister (Bullock) is fresh out of the clink on parole, but still hasn't exactly learned her lesson. What else is there for her to do but assemble a diverse team of women to pull off one of the biggest scores in history? The target: a very old, very valuable Cartier necklace worth well over $150 million from the Met Gala that Ocean promises to successfully get a hold of and split the earnings among them all.
Though the film may not be entirely original, it's still a delight to watch the whole process get strategically planned out and then unfold as they face a bunch of obstacles. What was also pretty cool was that each character had their own background and had proper motivation to get involved with this life of crime. Some of the most fun to watch were Hathaway's fictional, exaggerated version of herself, Daphne Kluger, and Rihanna's maxin', relaxin', "this is way too easy" hacker, Nine Ball. Also, was there actually ever a time where we thought that we'd get to see the Princess of Genovia share a scene with Bellatrix Lestrange from the Harry Potter movies? Or see Kelly from The Office connect with the "Umbrella" R&B sensation? Not only that, but since the heist takes place at one of the biggest, most exclusive parties in the country, there are plenty of other cameos to point out.
Overall, Ocean's 8 is just a good movie. Nothing spectacular, mind-blowing, or out of the ordinary. Simply entertaining. Maybe they're saving all the good stuff for the next two films in the trilogy (since that's obviously the direction they're going with this), so we'll just have to be patient until then as they plot their next sting. ★★★
★★★★★ Classic | ★★★★ Excellent | ★★★ Good | ★★ Fair | ★ Poor
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