First Take: Ocean’s 8- every heist needs a natural team leader

SYNOPSIS- Debbie Ocean gathers an all-female crew to attempt
an impossible heist at New York City’s yearly Met Gala.

11 years on from Ocean’s 13 (the last of Steven Soderbergh’s
trilogy with George Clooney), it’s hard to believe that Warner have decided to
resurrect the franchise, especially in the midst of quite the change in society
that we’re seeing, not least with the amount of heist films that have been
released since then. So I am very glad to report that the all-female spin-off
is a very enjoyable film, and for many, a brilliant introduction to the main
series of Ocean’s films.

Gary Ross helms the directors chair on this film, and he
manages to deliver a decently paced, stylistically driven 1 hour 50 minutes-
but at times, the film’s style does get in the way of the overall progression
of the narrative that we’ve seen so many times before, crafted very well by
Ross and Olivia Milch in their script. It’s shot brilliantly by Eigil Bryld
(the cinematographer on a film called You Don’t Know Jack amongst other features,
I am not joking), and with the mighty Daniel Pemberton turning in another damn
good score, the technical aspects of the film take a back seat role to let the
cast shine.

Performance wise, Sandra Bullock leads an insanely talented
cast in a way that only she can- and with the work of Cate Blanchett, Helena
Bonham Carter, Rihanna (who is a bit of a scene-stealer at times, she’s learned
a lot since 2011’s Battleship), Awkwafina, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Paulson and
Mindy Kaling, the 8 of them are able to make the film come to life in a way
that only they can. And when it comes to the supporting cast, James Corden is
saved for the film’s final act (a decision many audience members will like- he
is brilliant as ever), and with Richard Armitage alongside so many cameos it
would be impossible to list them all. The humour is there, and last night’s
World Cup avoiding audience (England were playing their first game while I
reviewed this one) lapped it up.

THE VERDICT

Ocean’s 8 is a perfectly workable film that lets new
audiences into the world that Soderbergh created, but its general style, and
clichéd plot does impact on the film’s quality- but the performances, humour,
and overall feel of the film make up for it exponentially. Warner have done a
good thing holding it back in the UK until now, as audiences who don’t want to
watch the football have a good reason to visit their local, non-descript
multiplex cinema.

Rating- 4/5