Ocean’s Eight

Sat in front of a prison parole board, Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock), sister of George Clooney’s Danny, charms her way to freedom. However, no sooner is she free then she starts putting together a team of ladies for a huge jewellery heist.

’Gary Ross’s all-female ‘Ocean’s 8’ is neither a sequel nor a reinvention..'

Director Gary Ross’s all-female ‘Ocean’s 8’ is neither a sequel or a reinvention. Instead flirting with a lacklustre storyline that neither copies nor develops the previous ‘Ocean’s 11’ movies, it sadly wastes both an opportunity and the talents of its cast. With A-list line-up that includes Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and Sarah Paulson to mention a few, it scatters its acting jewels across bland introductions and even duller encounters. Only in the hands of Anne Hathaway’s acidic movie starlet are any bona fide laughs to be found.

Sadly missing any of the crackling dialogue that so characterised the original, this is a movie whose charm has been stolen away. In its place, pasted-in, half-hearted asides roll into one another, neither carrying conviction nor the story forward. Whilst its caper-orientated plot does passes both credibility and watchability, this is a movie that does nothing to raise the stakes from what has gone before.

When the credits roll, ‘Oceans 8’ sadly leaves the future of the female ensemble movie in a decidedly shaky place. After a pale, all female ‘Ghostbusters’ any sense of future sexual redress is now starting to look like a hollow, marketing ploy. Hopefully the forthcoming ‘Widows’ by Oscar-winner Steve McQueen can put the female gang movie back onto a strong, character-led path. As for this one, as in common with the later Ocean’s movies, the hustler’s marks are only to be found in the cinema seats rather than those running round the screen.