This past weekend, I managed to catch another of the summer’s major blockbuster tentpoles, this one the all-female revival of the Ocean’s franchise. Ocean’s 8 currently holds a modest 68% review on Rotten Tomatoes, with both that percentage and the critics’ consensus suggesting a satisfying but overall unremarkable experience. You’ll find in what I write below that I largely agree with that aggregate opinion, so if you’re looking for any hot takes on this Tuesday you won’t find them here. What I will say is that while it has its share of issues, Ocean’s 8 is undoubtedly good fun, and a great movie for someone looking for a comparatively carefree cinema experience – and it’s hardly as disastrous a caper as John Mulaney would have you believe.
A surprisingly low-quality photo of the Ocean’s 8 cast reading the reviews for their movie. Note the range of expression, as it’s what I myself experienced while watching.
Ocean’s 8 follows the lead of its successful predecessors from the past twenty years very closely throughout, and even a few days removed from my viewing I’m having a hard time deciding whether that’s a good thing or not. At times, when Ocean’s 8 is close enough to the original trilogy to suggest sheer homage, it seems to work – but there are also instances in which the clear attempts at duplication don’t ring quite as true. The best example I can immediately think of for the latter case is the film’s soundtrack – Daniel Pemberton‘s score clearly tracks with David Holmes‘ drum-driven upbeat lounge pieces composed for Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen, but lacks the musical pizzazz and fit of the original trilogy’s numbers, and there’s even a non-score piece that’s used in both Ocean’s Thirteen and (less effectively, I’d say) Ocean’s 8. Visually, the similarities are in the same way both striking and at times jarring – while Ocean’s 8 is directed by Gary Ross and not Steven Soderbergh (though he does in fact produce), the quick cuts and still shots used for scene establishment are clearly taken from the original trilogy’s playbook, at times appropriately and at times not. What I’ll say in terms of the visual and aural similarity is that regardless of whether or not it always worked, I always respected the attempt at reproduction as a megafan of the original trilogy.
One of the Ocean’s 8’s stranger exposition scenes, in which Sandra Bullock (Debbie Ocean) feeds Cate Blanchett (Lou) to convince her to help execute a dangerous and lucrative jewel heist.
The parallels also extend to Ocean’s 8‘s plot and its method of unfolding that plot, and Ocean’s 8 starts in essence identically to Ocean’s Eleven: with the titular Ocean – characterized very early as being crafty and devious in a way that must run in the family – getting paroled after a planning stint in the clink. Moving onward from there, a lot of the same beats (customary heist movie beats, I’d argue) are hit, with some being hit more successfully than others. The crew-building sequence in which the heist team is assembled wasn’t nearly as satisfying to me as that of Ocean’s Eleven, feeling overall slower and with fewer slick and/or funny moments – this is where Ocean’s 8 nearly lost me before recovering with the actual heist and aftermath, both of which were good fun, albeit with very few actual “trouble” spots compared to those of the original trilogy. Any barriers placed in the way of the team were either very thinly paved over with hackneyed story elements or were avoided by virtue of seeming coincidence, neither of which are particularly potent tension-building mechanics. This culminates in a “surprise” ending that’s not much of a surprise at all, placing a fitting bow on a film that overall didn’t pack as much power for me as any single entry of the original trilogy in spite of a similarly ample call sheet.
Ocean’s 8 and Ocean’s Eleven start identically, and so I ask – who wore it (it being a prison jumpsuit) better?
Indeed, what elevates Ocean’s 8 to the level that makes it watchable and fun is its stellar cast – a cast which, I might add, indubitably deserves a better script than it received. There are too many great actresses, actors, and performances to name here individually, but a few players that stuck out to me as specifically superb were Rihanna (9-Ball, the heist team’s hacking and electronics whiz), Awkwafina (Constance, the sleight-of-hand guru), Mindy Kaling (Amita, the jewelry expert), Anne Hathaway (superstar Daphne Kluger, the octet’s quasi-mark), and James Corden (John Frazier, the insurance fraud investigator eventually assigned to the unfortunate task of trying to catch the thieves). Ocean’s 8‘s character lineup is arguably as good if not better than that of the original Ocean’s trilogy, but the writing and pacing of this first film in the supposed rebirth of the franchise seems to give each protagonist no real chance to flex any sort of coolness, intelligence, or humor muscles, save for a few choice beats – beats which, not coincidentally, also serve as some of the film’s better moments.
Hmm – only 7 shown here. I wonder who the eighth member of Ocean’s 8 may be? Wink wink.
There are also a number of familiar faces that crop up as well – while the most major of players from the original trilogy don’t show up (Matt Damon filmed a scene that was ultimately cut), a few characters (no spoilers, so won’t say exactly who) do return, and the script is littered with allusion to members of the original gang. Again, attempting to refrain from overt spoilers, these allusions also often result in some of Ocean’s 8‘s more bold story choices, and pose interesting questions for the future should a franchise develop (pretty sure it will). Some of these choices I don’t immediately agree with at face value, but the questions that they ask do seem to hint at a grand plan for weaving the old and new casts together – that’s all I’ll say for now. Departing from vagueries, though, and sticking with the idea of a continued franchise, one of the things that Ocean’s 8 does do well is introduce a reasonably charming cast of characters that, even if not given much room to grow in this movie, certainly have potential to bloom beautifully into more fully-developed criminals down the stretch. Specifically, I’m interested in the continued role of Corden’s character as the franchise moves forward, given his role as a seeming friend of Debbie Ocean in a semi-law enforcement position – to me, this is where the most depth potential lies.
One of the better parts of the film – the ending. That’s not meant to be a snarky remark, it’s just the truth.
Overall, I’d have to give Ocean’s 8 a solid Meh +, due largely to the efforts of its cast. It’s a fun and stress-free movie that doesn’t make many bold choices but provides just good enough execution of a familiar blueprint to be entertaining, albeit maybe not in the particularly lasting way of the original trilogy. In spite of my list of issues with this movie, I’m certainly looking forward to future Ocean’s installments, which promise to remove many of this entry’s seeming stumbling blocks encountered in exposition, and which also may further hint at some potentially thrilling tie-ins with the franchise’s past ventures many of us know and love so much.
Tuesdays with Cory 