Ocean's Eight (2018)

This film is dire. Don't bother wasting any of your time and money on it as it will bring only disappointment

I wish they built the tension more. Things went very easily.

This criminal would-be new series was one of the first in the uncontrollable avalanche of reboots/spin-offs/remakes coming from old-school classics and modern jewels strategically refocused on a female cast. A couple of years ago, when this news reached the ears of the cagey fanatics, a maelstrom of opinions began a still-latent debate about the pros and cons of making films on one-time used bases, creative recycling. This controversy got worse just when the name of the director in control came out: Gary Ross. The "The Hunger Games" filmmaker doesn't have the same experience or vigor behind the cameras as Soderbergh - just compare and contrast the quantity and quality of their films, - and that's clear in his newest movie realizing how much he based on the original trilogy to bring forward his vision and not lose control in the path of this simple, transient story. His ability as a narrator is enough to keep the idea on track, but the originals' dynamic pace and narrative precision are missed. That's why Ross, who is credited as screenwriter alongside Olivia Milch, doesn't give interesting additions to enrich this thieving universe suitably, however, there's a slight improvement with respect to the sequels thanks to its effortless, fine development, getting a pretty cool and manageable trip. The film aims to exalt the clan of women through customary feats and challenges, but does the opposite because handles elements that undeniably pigeonhole most of these ladies in the tiresome gender bromide as the terrible flicks it avoided to become: the MET Gala, designer dresses not as extravagant as expected, a multi-million dollar diamond necklace as the bull's eye and stereotypes of every culture spilled over the supporting characters. Although said setting works, it distorts one of the strongest justifications for this cinematic update.One of the biggest issues is that these intrepid thieves have practically the way free, there are no defined antagonists, actually, there is not one, neither James Corden's role manages to stay in that place and makes difficult to build true suspense and anxiety before an event that can change the course of the game, even when things get rough, the most dangerous enemies are two irrelevant FBI agents. It's a mildly amusing experience, to tell the truth, the story would lack comical spark if it were not for a couple of supporting characters and a few especial diverting situations. We're in front of a film that focuses its strengths fully on the plotting and execution of the robbery, although it doesn't get it too well.It's not possible to refute that it's a pleasant pastiche pastime, as a standalone film works particularly well and as a spin-off of an appreciated trilogy doesn't fulfill expectations it proposed. The centerpiece is an ambitious robbery again, only adding to the equation many more high-tech devices and a jam-packed setting with famous people with which Ross wanted to involve his story. It keeps a steady pace thanks to the role that every character performs, manages moderately well the narrative in the robbery sequence and doesn't waste time trying to be something that won't be able to, the resolutions are accurate, dry and concise and in the end, one ends up giving in to his funny but poorly original moves comparing with another of the most controversial feature films that set light to the debate: 2016 "Ghostbusters" reboot. There's diligence in the exposition and each lady plays somewhat the same role of their male counterpart from the original, some stand out more than others by the situations and the time put on them, but finally, proves that it has not been what we wished, is not as stylish as its components, but the ease displaying the plot and the extremely excessive respect make this an acceptable, undemanding fiction, a low-pressure evening of cinema.Many are the snazzy cameos walking through this audiovisual catwalk, either belonging to the fictional world or American entertainment. It's confusing and unlikely to understand in what place and time it sets, because according to what it projects, takes place in our world, but with important alterations, none of the actresses performs themselves for obvious reasons, not even Anne Hathaway with a role open to that possibility, opting only to increase its "medium" budget by displaying all-kind celebrities as Heidi Klum, Kim Kardashian, Common or Katie Holmes.The cinematography of Eigil Bryld gives the illusion repeatedly of being a kind of extended advertisement for the most famous museums, shops, and cities, since there is enough material focusing on brands, paintings, sculptures, and buildings, neglecting the mise-en-scène of the core story by trying to give a supposedly clever context. There are plenty of glamour and style in the performance of the film, especially in certain costumes designed for the recreation of the MET-special attention to a museum room showcasing the royalty's relics and jewelry over a moat, a particularly beautiful setting, - however, taking into account the endless visual opportunities that could be expressed on the most important gala-event in America with a different theme, it never makes an accurate use of this great potential because no designs are exhibited with the expected dimensions. The angles are quite specific and the camera movements end up being more showy than propositive, for example, the opening and closing scene, the way they play with the point of focus and how they slowly bring the character in question closer are awesome. There's no specific palette in the feature, the art department decides to follow the personality of each persona or the vibe of some places with simplicity to create every atmosphere, a welcome result that fails to transcend the usual, not even with Hathaway's or Bonham Carter's magnificent character. Juliette Welfling's edition work draws off too much from the source of inspiration, with scene-dividing changes, the emblematic visual games, the interspersion of situations and the old-school character introductions and props through different but simple, artful techniques, this modern-day spin-off weakens its avenues demonstrating a serious lack of personality and own creativeness making up a not-so inventive emulation. No homage if you abuse from the honoree's ideas in a big way. Daniel Pemberton's soundtrack plays by the rules as for the original melodies and despite he uses a few ones in his score, he applies small variations that fit well, while his own compositions extol the scenes thanks to the idiosyncratic rhythm, harmony and pace of the most traditional heist movies, no doubt, Pemberton did a great job for this half-baked flick.It's unbelievable the obnoxious product placement throughout the film. As the original film was a marketing pull for many of the casinos in Sin City, Ross' film tramples on a ridiculous multitude of brands, from Whirlpool to Subway, from Dolce & Gabbana to Coca Cola, from Epson to BMW. A personally tiresome overlong TV commercial that exceeds the limits of the tolerable."Ocean's 8" by Gary Ross is an entertaining, hard-to-avoid Hollywood heist film starring an all-star all-female cast that might have worked better as a standalone movie, nevertheless, this is a spin-off of the hit Steven Soderbergh trilogy that dilates the abusive use of some features that were attractive and groundbreaking at that time but today simply don't convince absolutely. The performances are a pleasure, even with the well-worn material to adapt, the script is laconic in its purposes and lightweight in the execution of itself, the direction by Ross gets to set up a moderately-glamorous summer film that satisfies the undemanding viewers running away from the sunniest days of the summer. If Warner Bros. has in mind to build a new franchise on these capable Ocean's, it must shake the scheme up and implement new and different moves to create its own criminal world, not one living under the shadow of Clooney's Danny Ocean.

They tried to do the Ghostbusters thing with this one didn't they? No, not the all female cast thing, which I guess they did try and do, but really I mean the "if you don't like this movie, we're going to threaten you with horrible labels" thing.And the result are cautionary reviews that all kind of sound as if the people are too afraid to call it boring...so they are going to point out the one decent performance in the film.But even then, you got the feeling that some of the cast wasn't really into threatening the audience to like the movie. Watching the interviews, you got the feeling that, yeah, they knew it was boring. Only one or two of them looked really prepared to be combative about forcing the public to love it.Meanwhile, this is a heist film, you are supposed to have comedy or action and in many cases both...and at least they tried for comedy in jokes that didn't entirely land. In fact, for the most part, the attempts at humor left you with a "meh" feeling at best. You can see where its supposed to be a laugh but it doesn't even really turn a cheek in the right direction.And then the action was all under cooked. So you're left with a story about a woman that is going to double cross the Oceans team, has the opportunity to do it, but then doesn't at the last minute for...reasons that are never really explained.