Summer goes by so quickly, doesn’t it? And so does the summer blockbuster season. It’s hard to catch every single movie when they’re on the big screen, which makes the fact that movies come to digital and Blu-ray so much quicker now than even five years ago a real plus in my book.
Enter Ocean’s 8, which hit theatres on June 8th, and was just released for home video. Not a long wait time to check out what of the big hits of the past few months. The film is a sequel cum reboot of the Ocean’s 11 franchise with George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and a whole bunch of other dudes. Ocean’s 8 jettisons the testosterone, and brings in Sandra Bullock as the sister of Clooney’s character, Debbie. Fresh out of prison, Debbie comes up with a huge heist that will net her both millions and, if all goes to plan, vengeance on the person who framed her and sent her to prison. All she needs is help from eight women.
While Ocean’s 8 is fairly familiar heist territory from a story perspective, and is way too reliant on fate and good luck rather just good planning, the film is extremely watchable thanks to the performances from all the leads – Bullock, Anne Hathaway, Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina and Rhianna. There’s a great chemistry between all of them, though I could have used as little more Awkwafina, who was great in Crazy Rich Asians and was under-utilized here. However, all the actors deliver fun performances, which makes the film worth checking out.
Director Gary Ross keeps things moving at a quick clip, and Ocean’s 8 is never boring, which is what you’d expect from the gathered talent. If you missed it on the big screen this summer, it’s an easy watch now that it’s available to watch at home. Fans of the original trilogy will find lots to enjoy in this new take.
