Ocean's 8

Modern day trailers suck. They give everything away and there's rarely a surprise left in a film after you see them. Teaser trailers spoil the big money shots and full trailers tend to flat out kill any hint of a surprise. It's a nuisance. God only knows why studios feel the need to give away big plot points before anyone has seen a movie. It makes no sense. I'll be vague here but the trailer of Ocean's 8 is a prime example of this. When a certain character appears on screen you think to yourself "Hmmm, in the trailer that person....." and any sense of tension you feel will evaporate. GRRRR. Of course if you haven't seen the trailer you'll be grand. Anyway, enough of my moaning. 

Debbie Ocean has just been released from jail and it doesn't take her long to get back to her old tricks. Time behind bars has her jonesing for action and in no time at all she's back with her ex partners Lou, Tammy and Amita and sets about assembling a new team to create the ultimate New York City heist. Has jail time made her rusty or will her skills still be as sharp as ever?

This was very entertaining stuff. It's light, it's fun, it's charming, it has a brilliant cast who have super chemistry with each other and it's a nice antidote to the summer seasons slate of big horror films and blockbusters. Sadly it's quite unique too. Why sadly? Well just how often do we get to see an all woman ensemble like this in movies? It's far too rare an occurrence these days.(Yes I know Annihilation came out this year too but that rapidly climbed up it's own arse) Jesus, even seeing two women sitting down having a chat is rare lately. So rare that there's even a test for it. After macho men ensemble movies like The Expendables series and the Magnificent Seven remake etc it's refreshing to see a team sit down and work out a plan that's fuelled on cunning, brain power and preparation rather than who can shoot more. It feels oddly fresh.

One of the joys of a heist movie is watching a plan being plotted out and everything being manoeuvred into place. 3D printers, soup, blind spots and diva egos all come into play here. If you've seen the Ocean's 11 movies you know exactly what route the story will take. We meet the team, we see the prep work and we see the heist go down. This has none of the smugness of those films though, it doesn't coast along on star power and gives us a group of people you can actually give a damn about. The odd thing about heist films is the fact that they have us hoping that a team of criminals will do well. It's curious. In real life I despise thieves but in films like this I find myself cheering them on and hoping that their hare brained schemes work out. It's all down to an immensely likeable cast made up of reliable old hands and fun newer faces.

Sandra Bullock as Debbie is as entertaining as I've ever seen her onscreen. Usually she plays the straight woman in comedies so it's nice to see her cut loose here in the lead. Cate Blanchett as Lou is just cool as fuck. Sarah Paulson, Rihanna and Awkwafina all get to have fun and each get their own nice moment in the spotlight. Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway for me steal the film though. Both have a whale of a time and get the lion's share of the film's laughs. HBC as a stressed out Irish ( her accent veering dangerously towards Oirish) designer and Hathaway as a hyper realistic version of herself. I'd happily watch the two of them in their own movies. Sadly in a film with a big cast someone has to get the shitty end of the stick and here it's Mindy Kaling. She just doesn't get to do much at all and it's a pity because she's hilarious. Oh well, we can't have it all but we do get a nice moment later on when the old guard of film and television make an appearance that makes up for it in some way.

My earlier issue with the trailer aside this was a fun watch. I'd have liked a little more danger though. Some of the suspension of belief required during this will have you rolling your eyes and obstacles that get in our heroine's way are jumped over a little too easily but you know what, when a film is this enjoyable who cares. I'm already looking forward to the sequel.

Well worth a trip to the cinema.