Those who know me will know I have a very mixed relationship with this franchise. I love the first one, Ocean's Eleven is easily one of my all time favourite heist films. Ocean's Twelve however is one of the worst movies I've seen, managing to be so forgettable I was convinced I fell asleep during it because I forgot what happened mere minutes after it ended. And then there's Ocean's Thirteen which I just recently watched and had a pretty good time with. I am happy yo announce that this newest entry falls on the good side of things.
In this film we see Danny Ocean's sister Debbie Ocean released from jail. Despite promising to behave, Debbie assembles a team of badass women to rob a hundred and fifty million dollar necklace from the Met Gala.
The cast of this film is phenomenal, and they all work really well together. Sandra Bullock is fantastic as always, carrying the film as Debbie Ocean. She has the grit and charisma to be a strong leader and puts it all to work here. Her Partner Lou is played by Cate Blanchett, who is also great as always. Her performance is honestly just really cool and elevates what otherwise may not have been a stand out character. Anne Hathaway plays Diane Kluger, the celebrity that the team plans to steal the necklace from. I wasn't always clear where they were going with this character as she was marketed as both the victim and one the eight, but I think that it was handled quite well. Hathaway's performance is a bit over the top and I thought it worked perfectly. Sarah Paulson is another member of the team and does all kinds of jobs, and was honestly a big stand out. Her character is trying to live a quiet life and once a part of the heist does a good job of balancing the characteristics of a badass criminal and a suburban mother. Rihanna plays the team's hacker, and she honestly impressed me quite a bit. She has some very strong moments and has good back and forth with the rest of the ensemble. Helena-Bonham Carter is also part of the team and does some of her best work in recent memory. Her character is a bit over the top and eccentric and Bonham-Carter was the absolute perfect choice for the role. Most of the cast is great, but with two members I have issues. Awkwafina plays a pickpocket that does some of the sneaky work for the group, and while I liked her character for the most part, there were some moments of hers that it was clear that the creative team was trying too hard to be funny and she was unable to elevate the material. Mindy Kaling plays a jeweler they bring on, and is unfortunately lost in the shuffle and ends up being mostly forgettable. As I was going over the cast I kept forgetting she was in the film which is pretty unfortunate.
Now onto the technical elements of the film. This is the first film in the franchise not directed by Steven Soderbergh, and is directed by Gary Ross. It is clear that Soderbergh's style rubbed off on Ross, as it feels just like the original, but perhaps it may have rubbed off a bit too much. The cinematography and direction are both exceptionally executed and a ton of fun, brining the stylistic elements that characterize the franchise to life very well. Unfortunately no one seemed to tell the writing crew that they weren't just making a direct remake of Ocean's Eleven. There are times where this film just feels too similar, to the point where the opening shot is nearly identical. This seems like the classic "yeah you can copy my homework just change some of the words so no one gets suspicious." Luckily I love the first film so while I'd love to see something a bit fresher I still had a great time. The only other key issue I had was with the tensity of the film. People's lives are on the line here, yet Ross has trouble turning the high stakes into tension. Everything feels to easy, and while everything is done well that ease just leaves me with a feeling of something being missing.
I can easily recommend this film. It feels a lot like a retread but has such an excellent cast that seems like they're all having a blast, and that makes for a very enjoyable watch. I would have liked to see something new, but I'm happy with what I got.
Rating: 3.5/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
In this film we see Danny Ocean's sister Debbie Ocean released from jail. Despite promising to behave, Debbie assembles a team of badass women to rob a hundred and fifty million dollar necklace from the Met Gala.
The cast of this film is phenomenal, and they all work really well together. Sandra Bullock is fantastic as always, carrying the film as Debbie Ocean. She has the grit and charisma to be a strong leader and puts it all to work here. Her Partner Lou is played by Cate Blanchett, who is also great as always. Her performance is honestly just really cool and elevates what otherwise may not have been a stand out character. Anne Hathaway plays Diane Kluger, the celebrity that the team plans to steal the necklace from. I wasn't always clear where they were going with this character as she was marketed as both the victim and one the eight, but I think that it was handled quite well. Hathaway's performance is a bit over the top and I thought it worked perfectly. Sarah Paulson is another member of the team and does all kinds of jobs, and was honestly a big stand out. Her character is trying to live a quiet life and once a part of the heist does a good job of balancing the characteristics of a badass criminal and a suburban mother. Rihanna plays the team's hacker, and she honestly impressed me quite a bit. She has some very strong moments and has good back and forth with the rest of the ensemble. Helena-Bonham Carter is also part of the team and does some of her best work in recent memory. Her character is a bit over the top and eccentric and Bonham-Carter was the absolute perfect choice for the role. Most of the cast is great, but with two members I have issues. Awkwafina plays a pickpocket that does some of the sneaky work for the group, and while I liked her character for the most part, there were some moments of hers that it was clear that the creative team was trying too hard to be funny and she was unable to elevate the material. Mindy Kaling plays a jeweler they bring on, and is unfortunately lost in the shuffle and ends up being mostly forgettable. As I was going over the cast I kept forgetting she was in the film which is pretty unfortunate.
Now onto the technical elements of the film. This is the first film in the franchise not directed by Steven Soderbergh, and is directed by Gary Ross. It is clear that Soderbergh's style rubbed off on Ross, as it feels just like the original, but perhaps it may have rubbed off a bit too much. The cinematography and direction are both exceptionally executed and a ton of fun, brining the stylistic elements that characterize the franchise to life very well. Unfortunately no one seemed to tell the writing crew that they weren't just making a direct remake of Ocean's Eleven. There are times where this film just feels too similar, to the point where the opening shot is nearly identical. This seems like the classic "yeah you can copy my homework just change some of the words so no one gets suspicious." Luckily I love the first film so while I'd love to see something a bit fresher I still had a great time. The only other key issue I had was with the tensity of the film. People's lives are on the line here, yet Ross has trouble turning the high stakes into tension. Everything feels to easy, and while everything is done well that ease just leaves me with a feeling of something being missing.
I can easily recommend this film. It feels a lot like a retread but has such an excellent cast that seems like they're all having a blast, and that makes for a very enjoyable watch. I would have liked to see something new, but I'm happy with what I got.
Rating: 3.5/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
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