I believe that I’m done with the summer movies for 2018. What a dry season! After having barely survived the 2h30min of the most recent ‘M:I6‘ I was hoping to spend a more pleasant time watching the constellation of talented actresses which show up in the cast of Ocean’s Eight. Each of Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, or Helena Bonham Carter on the poster would be a good reason for me to buy my cinema ticket and popcorn and watch any movie they star in. How does it happen that the gathering of them all in ‘Ocean’s Eight‘ resulted in a rather mediocre production, which barely extracts a smile and does not thrill (action-wise) at any point in time?
source https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5164214/
I am afraid that I need to blame director and script co-author Gary Ross for this failure. Ross succeeded quite well when he wrote and directed films that were at the fringe of mainstream, and I include here The Hunger Games. With Ocean’s Eight he is riding the waves of mainstream Hollywood blockbusters, not only continuing a series with a well established formula but also a tradition of big studios hits based on the combination of very popular actors bringing to screen stories of elaborated burglaries in famous museums or postcard touristic destinations. The problem is that this version of the old story no passion, no thrill, no original ideas. Yes, the burglars team is all-women but this direction was not enough put in works either, and the result is much lesser than the amount of talent that is invested and the potential promised by the cast.
(video source Warner Bros. Pictures)
The girls try to do their best. Sandra Bullock leads the team and devices a plan that is unfortunately never clear or too interesting to viewers, Cate Blanchett brings to screen her usual ‘I am much more than I look about’ feeling but we never get what this ‘much more’ is about, Anne Hathaway is perfect in her beautiful-but-not-too-smart role, and Helena Bonham Carter has the chance of the only role with more comic potential and a better background story. The action trails, we have seen the laser beams dances too many times to enjoy it, The Metropolitan Museum is under-used as a location, and while shorter by almost one hour Ocean’s Eight eventually seems to last as long as ‘M:I6. The bad news are that this film may be the best entertainment that we get this this summer.