Excellent Cast Saves “Ocean’s 8”

In the modern era of event cinema, movies are carried by pulse-quickening action. Heck, these days movies are sold to audiences with recognizable brands, some of which resemble the original property in name only. So, it’s nice to see a major Hollywood movie that’s carried by the work of an excellent cast. “Ocean’s 8” is that kind of movie.

Spun off of the George Clooney vehicle “Ocean’s 11”, “Ocean’s 8” stars Sandra Bullock as Debbie Ocean, sister of Clooney’s character in the earlier series of films. Debbie hatched a plan while in prison and, together with her friend Lou (Cate Blanchett), begins recruiting a team to set her plan in motion the instant she finishes serving her time.

The plan is an intricate web requiring exact timing and multiple team members with various special skills to execute their roles flawlessly. They need to schmooze their mark, manipulate the security and navigate the twists and turns of actually running the plan. Or, the same thing you see in every other heist flick.

Heist movies rely on two things to hook the audience:

1) the excitement of putting together and pulling off the plan, and

2) the charisma and chemistry of the cast members on screen together.

“Ocean’s 8” is a little light in the plotting and plan aspects. It’s not overly twisty and it’s relatively middling in its degree of difficulty.

On top of that, “Ocean’s 8” isn’t exactly the tensest movie of all time. There’s rarely a moment where you fear Debbie or anyone on her team will get caught. The film is also a fairly leisurely ride, with the visual style and the pace of the editing doing nothing to add energy and tension. To tell the truth, most of “Ocean’s 8” is pretty meh.

But the cast saves the whole movie.

Bullock and Blanchett are both terrific. Bullock’s Debbie is smart and resourceful but Bullock also lets her vulnerability through and you understand that this job might be all she has in life. Blanchett is a tough cookie and the perfect foil for Bullock.

Add in a quirky turn from Helena Bonham Carter as a desperate fashion designer, some good stuff from Sarah Paulson and Mindy Kaling, and you’ve got an ensemble that’s a lot of fun to watch. They have tons of chemistry and seem to enjoy whipping verbal barbs back and forth. They elevate a lot of less-than-inspired writing and transform into something believable and entertaining.

And then you get to the best part: Anne Hathaway’s hilarious snooty take as socialite Daphne Kluger. Hathaway is perfect. So snooty, self-absorbed and image-conscious. And deeper than she appears to be. Good stuff. Hathaway owns every scene she’s in and her scenes with Bonham Carter are especially fun.

“Ocean’s 8” makes a few references to the Clooney/Pitt movies, but you don’t need to have seen them to get into this one. It’s not as slick or cool as most heist movies and suffers from a serious lack of tension. But the cast is so much fun that “Ocean’s 8” ends up working pretty well. If you’re looking to an alternative to superheroes and dinosaurs this summer, you could do a lot worse.

3 Indy Fedoras out of 5

MPAA Rating PG-13