Ocean’s 8

Ocean’s 8 – Fresh out of a five-year stint in prison, Debbie Ocean (sister of Danny from Ocean’s Eleven) immediately sets about organising the heist of which she spent her time inside dreaming: stealing a $150m diamond necklace during the Met Gala dinner. But first she needs to put together a crew…

Ocean’s 8 (2018) – Director: Gary Ross

Rating: 12 

Running Length: 110 mins

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchette, Helena Bonham Carter, Sarah Paulson, Rihanna, Awkwafina, Mindy Kaling, Anne Hathaway

Genre: Heist movie, crime, comedy

REVIEW: OCEAN’S 8

As a gender-flipped version of the George Clooney vehicle from 2001 this succeeds moderately well. The cast is diverse and charming, and the film as a whole approximates the slick, cool vibe of the previous films. Sandra Bullock is on fine form, and Sarah Paulson and Awkwafina are probably the stand-outs in the supporting cast. It moves along at a brisk pace, the heist itself is complex and involving, and the soundtrack is a fun mix of classic and contemporary pop.

But there are weaknesses in the script. With the exception of Ocean herself, most of the characters are pretty one-note. Cate Blanchett in particular is wasted in a very thin role, and is given almost nothing interesting to do. Almost all the characters have little or no arc, remaining the same at the end as they were at the beginning (apart from being wealthier).

More surprisingly for this kind of film, which is usually more concerned with plot than character, there are almost no surprises, reversals, or obstacles encountered. The heist is planned and executed pretty much without a hitch. Small problems which crop up along the way are dealt with quickly and easily, and there is virtually no suspense or danger. At no point are we in any doubt that they’re going to get away with it, which makes for a somewhat dramatically flat film. The characters remain cool and unruffled throughout, doing their jobs professionally and calmly.

But if you’re in an undemanding mood at the end of a hard week and are happy to see pretty, charming people coasting through an elaborate but unsurprisingly plot, you may find this fits the bill. Plus, you get to hear Sandra Bullock speak fluent German, which is nice.

CONTENT: IS ‘OCEAN’S 8’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

Although there is little in the way of bad language, violence or sex in this film, the whole story is based on the idea that stealing something of immense monetary value in order to defraud an insurance company is a fun and cool thing to do. We also see smaller examples of theft and fraud which could be considered as showing children how to get away with illegal behaviour.

At the start of the film we see Debbie Ocean lie to her parole board hearing about her intention to reform her criminal ways, then she bribes a prison officer. She steals perfume and make-up from a department store and cons her way into a hotel room by lying about her identity.

She then meets the man whose betrayal put her in prison. She threatens him with a ‘shiv’: a plastic blade made from the handle of a toothbrush. She holds it to his throat, then cuts off one of his shirt buttons.

Another character is seen preparing a large number of bottles of vodka for her nightclub’s bar, diluting the alcohol with water.

A character is seen lighting a joint and smoking it, which shocks two other characters. Later she smokes a cigar.

A montage of shots in a museum features exclusively artwork of women, many of whom are naked. Some painted or sculpted breasts are seen, but no genitalia.

A man and woman kiss passionately. In another scene they are seated on a sofa and she sits on top of him and kisses him. She then leads him to her bed where she handcuffs him to the bed frame before leaving the room.

The word “fkng” is seen in a text message. Otherwise the bad language is limited to the occasional “shit’ or ‘damn’.

Many characters drink alcohol but never to excess and usually in the context of a dinner.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘OCEAN’S 8’ FOR KIDS?

An enjoyable heist comedy whose whole premise is that theft and/or insurance fraud is cool and rebellious, but little in the way of distressing content. We would therefore recommend this movie as suitable for children aged 9 and above depending on attitude to occasional bad language.

• Violence: 1/5 (one scene of physical threat)
• Emotional Distress: 0/5
• Fear Factor: 0/5
• Sexual Content: 1/5 (some kissing, a woman straddles a seated man)
• Bad Language: 1/5 (infrequent mild profanity (shit, damn))
• Dialogue: 0/5
• Other notes: (deals with crime, cons, fraud, revenge and betrayal, features main characters drinking and smoking)

Words by Simon Litton

[amazon_link asins=’B07D5159W3,B00WE8QQC2,B01N7GLYGU,B0074GV17E’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’isthimovsui-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’1acdeb12-733a-11e8-89ce-5d3aa0fb4350′]