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| Every Con has its Pros |
The previous Ocean's outing (not the 1960 movie) had the impressive cast of George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and a few more notable names such as Julia Roberts and Don Cheadle who sparked a memorable trilogy. For me, I have to say I think Ocean's Eight has the more impressive lineup. Staying true to the series, this movie is a heist movie which centres around Bullock as Debbie Ocean, the sister of Clooney's Danny Ocean. Debbie was sent to prison after being outconned by a rival. She spent all five years of her prison sentence planning the ultimate heist. Upon her release, she and her long-term crime partner Lou, played by Cate Blanchett, assemble a crew and the adventure begins.
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| Plan it. Risk it. Wear it. Hack it. |
The movie does very well to establish Debbie Ocean as a smart, cunning and stylish criminal who can very easily commit crimes to her benefit and she does it with charm. The film also quickly conveys the friendship between Debbie and Lou. It is this friendship dynamic that is central throughout this film and serves as one of it's most successful elements. The movie then proceeds to slowly assemble the crew whilst showing each characters strengths, quirks and personalities. The group dynamic is funny, diverse, functional and is just very cool to see on screen. A big issue that I found throughout is that the group dynamic just doesn't rise to a level that you probably expect it to given the power of the cast. This isn't to say it doesn't work, because it very much does and is entertaining but almost feels like it's achievable without star-studded actors. 
The plot of the movie is nothing too complex and is exactly what one would expect from a heist movie. The fun is in the planning, the execution and improvising when it doesn't go quite to plan. This brings me on to another flaw I felt this movie had, there wasn't enough surprise or twist. The small twists that do occur aren't particularly impressive or unexpected. In fact, the biggest twist of the film has already been revealed in the promotional material! (I won't explain what it is because there are no spoilers here. I know this has sounded overwhelmingly negative but I promise you it's not.) The plot is good and pulled off well its nothing special but it's still fun! I would also like to say James Corden's appearance during the final act of the movie was a nice addition, complementing the main cast and taking nothing away from them. |
| Find it. Fake it. Fence it. Take it. |
The highlights of the movie for me has to be Cate Blanchett's performance as Lou. although the whole cast does a good job, Blanchett's performance is a standout due to her natural portrayal and her ability to deliver believable lines with heavy amounts of charm and style. She interacts well with the rest of the characters and supports Bullock's performance as the lead very well. Interestingly, the movies' blandness is not a result of the acting. Rather it's the way the film was written. I would have loved to see a little more close dialogued interactions and relevant humour between the characters throughout the movie. This was definitely produced just not to a good enough extent. It's difficult to do in one 2 hour movie where their characters have pretty much just met. This does perfectly leave the door open for future sequels to build on the bonding of the characters and deliver an even more entertaining second and third outing. I would definitely watch a sequel to this movie. Interestingly enough, Ocean's Twelve was received much better than Ocean's Eleven and a big reason for that is the time spent assembling the team in the first film can be spent on team interactions in the second.
Conclusion
So onto what you really came here for, should you go to watch Ocean's 8? Is it worth it? Does it live up to the originals? Well, it is without a doubt a fun movie and an easy watch with the whole family. The actors are good and the group dynamic is nice. They pull off a heist movie with elegance and style. However, it is not as good as you would expect from a cast of Oscar winners and nominees. The film serves it's purpose and leaves the door open for sequels but just isn't as heavy hitting as it should be. The cast is the strongest point of the movie and the weakest is the writing. It's a shame because there is no doubt this cast could handle a more challenging script with smarter humour, more suspense and tension, twists and more individuality to separate it from past Ocean movies and heist movies in general. All things considered, Ocean's 8 gets a blog of steel rating of 6/10. Wait until it hits DVD or Netflix to watch it.
That is all for another Blog Of Steel post! I hope you enjoyed reading it and maybe see for yourself if you agree or disagree with my review! if there's anything you want to discuss or comment on, simply pop it in the comments box below or tweet me @Akash_Sond! Share this posts with your friends and family by clicking on the social media buttons just below. Thanks for reading, hopefully, I'll be posting again soon!
