Ocean's 8

This review may contain spoilers!

This is a charming imitation that never really manages to achieve anything on its own merits. I would give Ocean's 8 a 5.5/10.

There are several scenes that manage to boast and light quirky tone, one that manages to be sustained for most of the film. It is this light tone and effort to entertain that makes this film flow, you enjoy moments when you can laugh or see the events of the heist as they develop. The editing for the film is probably the major standout, with shot after shot sweeping and cutting away in the style of previous Ocean's films.

Elliot Gould and Shaobo Qin, who played Reuben and Yen respectively, are brilliant cameos and really recapture their roles of old; Gould's return as the heart of the team is a nice touch and moment in which the torch is 'passed on'. Helena Bonham Carter, who played Rose Weil, is quite tragic and at her wits end when first we meet her; it grows quite funny watching Carter play the more bumbling and unskilled member of the heist job. Mindy Kaling, who played Amita, is quite soft-spoken and wonderstruck by the events and new things she learns from her teammates throughout; Kaling is one of the more grounded performers in this and also plays her comedic motivations for wanting to be a part of the heist very well. Awkwafina, who played Constance, has a very fresh delivery and plays quite an interesting street pickpocket; Awkwafina's role comes across as highly skilled while giving the team a more youthful perspective. Sarah Paulson, who played Tammy, is hilariously tense and strained by life in suburbia when first we're introduced to her; the contrast of Paulson being so gleeful once she begins preparing for the heist makes her role one to watch. Nathanya Alexander, who played Veronica, seems hyper-intelligent and a nice support to Rihanna's character; Alexander may not be in this film for long but her quick banter with her on-screen sister makes for a charming relationship. James Corden, who played John Frazier, is extremely funny as the world-weary insurance fraud agent; Corden's dry wit and interrogation techniques make for an unconventional and unique performance.

However, the best performance came from Anne Hathaway, who played Daphne Kluger. This role is quite a nice parody of celebrity culture, in which Hathaway gets to play up a certain haughtiness and vanity to great effect. The manner in which this role flaunts herself and holds herself above others makes her seem naive and a good target for this film. In fact, watching Hathaway play through the scenes in which she is 'duped' is pretty entertaining. Yet the decision to affirm the character of Daphne as being very aware of the heist and a player in the scheme is a nice move; making Hathaway's actress character a bit of a black widow for the main antagonist and his ultimate downfall.

This film breaks the big rule of 'show don't tell', often illustrating the direction the narrative will play out scenes before we are delivered the content. Everything happens quite distinctly: the introduction of the main cast, planning of the heist, the heist and getting away with it. It grows dull pretty fast that the characters never feel challenged or that even at the moments where the stakes are at their highest we don't feel any tension or suspense as an audience. Ultimately, even attempts at pulling off plot twist crash and burn; Daphne becoming a part of the team means that Claude is left as the rather mild force behind any semblance of conflict in the film and it's no great shock when we find out more was stolen than we originally thought. The cinematography showed a lack of creative shooting, we were presented with important characters and things but gone was the wild and innovative camerawork of the original Ocean's trilogy. The score for the film came across as a more watered down version of the original themes, while the soundtrack was forgettable and didn't lend the desired impact to scenes.

Sandra Bullock, who played Debbie Ocean, was quite bland as the main protagonist of the film; she often came across as cold and harsh making her character hard to like. Cate Blanchett, who played Lou, really doesn't have any engaging chemistry as Bullock's best friend/p[artner in crime; Blanchett seems tied to a very dry role that tows behind Bullock in the background. Richard Armitage, who played Claude Becker, is the supposed antagonist of this film; yet while he seems like a bit of a jerk the film never really cements him strongly as someone to dislike. Rihanna, who played Nine Ball, just has no personality in her performance or character; the snarky nature of this role makes her hard to like and is probably the most forgettable of 'Ocean's 8'. Dakota Fanning, who played Penelope Stern, is an unusual minor role that is meant to come across as a glamorous celebrity; Fanning never really pushes this and it merely feels like a thin cameo at best.