There’s a single line in Ocean’s Eight where Sandra Bullock’s character explains why she doesn’t want any men on the team: “A him gets noticed, a her gets ignored.” This line works well on multiple levels, but regrettably also serves as a sort of prophecy for this all-female sequel/spin-off to Steven Soderbergh’s stylish Ocean’s trilogy.
Aside from changing the genders of Ocean’s team, almost everything in Ocean’s Eight is a cookie-cutter copy of the previous films, only made with less skill, swagger and (somehow) style. Standing in for the inexplicably dead Danny Ocean is his sister Debbie (Bullock). With the same grifting, pick-pocketing panache as her infamous brother, Debbie plans a daring heist immediately after she is released from prison for a crime she was framed for committing. The following team gathering is standard stuff and hardly extends beyond what was already seen in the trailers, but it does introduce us to the charming rogues’ gallery that is Ocean’s crew.
Cate Blanchett is Lou, Debbie’s right-hand woman, a fill-in for the Brad Pitt role that underutilizes Blanchett’s smoldering cool. Mindy Kaling is the jewel expert who doesn’t get much to say or do. Rihanna plays Nine Ball, the computer whiz whose one note remains amusing throughout. Awkwafina charms as the deadpan, sleight-of-hand, professional pocket picker. Sarah Paulson is the fence moonlighting as a soccer mom. And Helena Bonham Carter excels as just the neurotic, washed-up fashion designer they need to pull the heist off. For those counting, this roster only accounts for an Ocean’s seven, which leaves their mark, Anne Hathaway, effortlessly embodying the role of the spoiled and insecure celebrity whose six-pound diamond necklace they will steal during the Met gala.
With such a strong cast, it’s a shame they weren’t backed by an equally strong crew. Early scenes in the film feel unintentionally underlit, and though the heist itself is well executed, it lacks the throwback cool of the Soderbergh films (though he is a co-producer here). The one cookie this film forgot to cut from the previous films, and perhaps the most important, is that of a true adversary, the Anthony Garcia role in Ocean’s Eleven. Without a villain actively trying to thwart their caper, the heist becomes purely procedural, lacking any real drama. It’s these unfortunate missteps that will likely lead to Ocean’s Eight being what Debbie Ocean was hoping for all along: ignored.
