Rob Ryan Movie Reviews - Oceans 8

26th June 2018

When it comes to remaking or rebooting a popular franchise with an all-female cast, I can't help but feel somewhat opposed to the idea.
While I think the idea of a female lead heist film or any female lead genre film can have a lot of potential and is definitely something we need more of, I see no reason as to why it has to be connected to the Oceans series or any other male lead franchise because by doing that you are basically inviting people to compare them based on gender while disregarding the quality of both films, which I think is a completely backwards way of discussing film as an art form. We saw this happen with Ghostbusters in 2016. A film that no one wanted regardless of the cast and as a result did very little business at the box office and now hear we are with Oceans 8, which despite being a female lead remake I was still optimistic for it and hoping I would at least have a good time. It's important to point out that I'm going to be reviewing this film like I would any other film. I will also not be comparing to the previous entries directed by Steven Soderbergh as I haven't really seen any of them with the exception of 30 minutes of the first one on TV but honestly after a watching this new version, I wished I stayed home and binged them instead.

Now despite not having watched the previous films, there are a few heist films that I really enjoy and all of them include specific elements that make them work. You have the compelling conflict and motivation for why the protagonists want to commit this crime and what it will mean for them, you have the slick filmmaking techniques that serve to guide the viewer in their complex plan. That would include slick cinematography and editing to show the ins and outs of their plan, you introduce quirky and interesting side characters, both are good at different things and serve a purpose to pulling the heist off and half way through their plan would hit a snag that puts our hero's in jeopardy, making the film more unpredictable for the viewer. All of this would lead to some kind of twist that's surprising but wraps the story in a nice bow so that when the film is over, the viewer is completely satisfied. Non of what I said is present in Oceans 8. It’s a heist movie with no style of its own, no characters to get invested in, no compelling conflict, no interesting twists, nothing. It’s the most flatly directed heist film I have ever seen in all my years as a fan of film. I guess the blame goes towards director Gary Ross who helmed the first Hunger Games film before being replaced. His style can be summed up by pointing the camera at certain shots while not doing anything creative visually and add in a few distracting zooms and flip cuts and swipe cuts in post to make up for how flat and lifeless everything is and also because that's what Soderbergh did in the original. Despite not finishing all of Oceans 11 I can at least tell that it had more style and character then any of Oceans 8. It's almost as if they thought that adding women in the cast was enough to sell this as a good product. Which I find kind of insulting. Especially to the women who are going to see it because of the cast.

Speaking of the cast, all of them are given very little to work with. Which is a shame because unlike Ghostbusters where you either liked or hated the cast, the cast of Oceans 8 comprise of many fantastic and well loved stars who have proven themselves to be major talents but unfortunately, I can't tell you anything remotely about their characters that I remember and most of them are pretty much are playing archetypes of themselves. The only one who comes across as a distinct character with a motive to join in on the heist is Helena Bonham Carter as the washed-up fashion designer (already forgotten her name) who is massively in debt and has nothing left to lose. Anne Hathaway (probably my fav out of the entire cast) Gets some funny moments, playing the shallow, self-indulgent supermodel who plays an important part in the heist despite her not knowing what she is being used for. Bullock's Debbie Ocean's only motive is later revealed as an act of revenge for the man who wronged her years ago, while revenge can and has proven to be a compelling motive to set the plot in motion, here its most certainly isn't. As for the rest of the characters there really isn't anything to latch onto as they are given no real motive to join Sandra Bullock other than that she's their friend. They seemed to be coping just fine without the money. How I'm I supposed to care for these people or feel emotionally attached if there isn't any justifiable motivation for doing something that could get them thrown in the slammer. The film makes no attempt in having you feel anything for them. The script feels incomplete.

I take no pleasure in saying this but Oceans 8 is one of the biggest disappointments of the year so far and proves that just because you have a cast full of women taking centre stage in a franchise film, It doesn't equate to an enjoyable, well written and well-made film. People will enjoy this film just because of the cast and the cast only and more power to them but for me that isn't enough to give this film a pass. A good heist film I would recommend is last year's Logan Lucky oddly enough directed by Steven Soderbergh, a film that has actors who are actually playing interesting characters and not bland archetypes of themselves, a conflict that's compelling and interesting, loads of laughs, twist and turns. Everything that a heist film and a good film in general should be.

Rating: 4/10 (and I think that's being a little too generous)

Posted by Ben Fry at 10:52am