Ocean’s 8 Movie Review: Star Studded Cast And What Else?

Everytime I write my thoughts about a movie, I most likely visited the mall after service on a sunday. I mean, If I am dressed and out of the house, I think it is wise to just ‘play’ a bit before heading home. For this sunday, I went to the Ikeja City Mall after service with no particular movie in mind but when I checked the movies showing, I opted for Ocean’s 8.

Who wouldn’t though? With the way Ocean’s 8 premiere in Nigeria had celebrities and individuals alike storming the red carpet in MET Gala Inspired Outfits, I was curious to see if the hype was worth it.

Is Ocean’s 8 Movie worth the hype? Here is what I think –

When I first saw the preview on Instagram and later on YouTube, I thought ‘just another girl gang movie’. The title also seemed familiar and this was easily so because there is an Ocean’s 11 (2001), Ocean’s 12 (2004) and Ocean’s 13 (2007). Will there be anything in common?

For some reason, I did not realise Rihanna was in this movie. How could I not have noticed? I found this surprising because while at the movies, It turned out I only started concentrating after her first scene. If I had noticed her in the preview, she would have easily been a good reason to get enthusiastic about seeing Ocean’s 8.

Ocean’s 8 is an ‘All Girl Gang’ Crime Film directed by Gary Ross and produced by the joint effort of George Clooney, Steven Soderbergh and Susan Ekins.

The movie opens with Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) being released from prison and shortly after pledging to live a simple crime free life, she is seen shop lifting at a high end make up store, getting access illegally into a top hotel and stealing clothes. Basically doing everything she promised not to do.

As soon as she settled in the hotel, Debbie starts planning a heist that involves stealing a cartier necklace worth about $150 million. This is what we were made to believe until I saw there was much more involved than just a necklace.

Is there a reason why I see a resemblance between Amal Clooney and Anne Hathaway?

Anyway, Anne Hathaway played the role of Daphne Kluger and was the bait in Ocean’s 8 as she was the celebrity billed to wear a cartier necklace worth $150 Million which Sandra Bullock (Debbie Ocean) planned to steal.

Just in case you plan to see this movie, here is a bit of what to expect.

No, this is not a spoiler, just some details why you might find it interesting.

Surprises

There were a number of things I did not see coming so I had a wow moment at the scenes below:

• I was surprised at how Debbie Ocean quickly went back to her con artist lifestyle immediately after being released from jail. The idea was to avenge her brother’s (Danny Ocean) death but the urge to revenge heightened when she found out she was thrown in jail because her love interest betrayed her. (There was no going back on the plan, she had been on this for 5 years 8 month and 12 days remember?)
• Finding out that Anne Hathaway (Daphne Kluger) had figured out the heist and wanted to be part of the team. All thanks to Helena Bonham Carter’s bad acting. Am I the only one who thinks the Insurance Investigator was a tad bit too unserious?
• Finding out Debbie Ocean successfully stole more than just the $150 Million Cartier Necklace. You should watch the movie to see every other thing they were able to cart away.

Ocean’s 8 Will Remind You Of Other Heist Movies.

Once I saw that Debbie Ocean had to recruit professionals to help her achieve her plan, other robbery movies I had seen came to mind. Ocean’s 8 reminds me of Now You See Me because both movies are not so hard to watch. In Now You See Me, Magic looked interesting while they had ulterior plans and for Ocean’s 8, it did not feel like I was watching a crime movie either.

Ocean’s 8 also reminds me of Focus because Will Smith and his team were just as swift at picking pockets/lifting without getting caught. Expect to see some clever stunts in this movie, look out for Rihanna and Awkwafina.

Award Winning/Star Studded Cast.

You know how we get excited about awards and the red carpet, you will get a bit of that excitement when you see the list of celebrities in this movies. Especially as the story is built around the MET Gala.

From the award winning cast, there is Sandra Bullock as Debbie Ocean, Anne Hathaway as Daphne Kluger, Cate Blanchett as Lou (Debbies’s friend and crime partner), Rihanna as Nine Ball (Hacker) , Sarah Paulson as Tammy (stay at home mum), Mindy Kaling as Amita (Jeweler), Dakota Fanning as Penelope Stern, Awkwafina/Nora Lum as Constance (pick pocket), Nathanya Alexander as Veronica (Rihanna’s sister), Helena Bonham Carter as Rose (Fashion Designer), James Corden as John Frazier (Insurance Investigator) and Richard Armitage as Claude Becker (ex-boyfriend).

For celebrities who made an appearance, I recognised Kim Kardashian West, Anna Wintour, Heidi Klum, Serena Williams, Kylie Jenner, Hailey Baldwin, Zac Posen, Katie Holmes, Jaime King and Kendall Jenner at first glance.

Comic Relief

For a movie that is tagged under the crime genre, I did not expect the bits of comic relief it has. It is not so much but it is just enough to know that the writer wanted viewers to have a good laugh here and there.

Ocean’s 8 may not have renowned comedians in it’s cast but you can see the attempt at comedy in their gestures, facial expression, attitude and some dialogue. One is such is the scene where Helena Bonham Carter was trying to get a perfect shot of the cartier necklace with her special glasses. I thought that was hilarious.

Another funny scene was the jeweler’s reaction after he realised a fake cartier necklace was returned to the vault.

Is Ocean’s 8 worth your time?

Ocean’s 8 did not give me that crime/action movie feel.

I was not expecting gun shots or archery but I feel like the characters did not have enough time to unveil their personality. Each character just sprang up on us, everything happened too smooth and fast (especially the recruitment stage) and they barely encountered any disruption on the actual robbery day.

I enjoyed the twist in the movie but then, I had to wait till the movie was almost ending to get my ‘this is it’ moments. After Debbie Ocean pulled her shoplifting stunts, nothing else caught my attention until Rihanna showed up and it was interesting from then on.

Can you tell my favourite characters are Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) and Nine Ball (Rihanna)?

In all, Ocean’s 8 is a light heist movie, a good effort (might not be award material) and fun to watch. I am one to look out for lessons in a movie so even though it may sound tongue in cheek (because robbery isn’t something to be proud of), I will say the movie depicts how women can work together to achieve a goal and even more.

If you have watched the other Ocean’s Movie, you should see this one too. Just so that you can form your opinion.

If this will be your first Ocean’s Movie, you should still watch it but have an open mind and make sure you also have the patience to wait for the interesting scenes.

Share your thoughts

Have you seen Ocean’s 8?

What other heist movie does Ocean’s 8 remind you of?

What movies have you seen recently?

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