Disclaimer:  The views expressed here are mine alone and do not represent those of allgames.com.

Introduction

It’s been awhile since Sandra Bullock starred in a movie. In fact, I think many people may watch Ocean’s 8 in the movie theaters just to get a glimpse of Sandra Bullock. That being said, I think the Ocean’s 8 movie left a lot to be desired for moviegoers. Sandra Bullock, with all of her star quality, had a huge job to make this movie a hit. She did her best, but unfortunately, her efforts were not quite enough.

Synopsis of Ocean’s 8

As you know, the Ocean’s movie franchises' plots involve some type of heist. This one was no different with the storyline centered around the heist of a diamond necklace.  Sandra Bullock’s character, Debbie Ocean is newly released from prison and plans this heist, with the help of some of her friends.

Pros of Ocean’s 8

It’s good to see that Sandra Bullock has returned to acting after such a long absence. Her acting skills were adequate for this movie. The acting abilities of the other actors who appeared in this movie were adequate as well. However, In my opinion, there was no “stand out” actor in Ocean’s 8, including Sandra Bullock.

I enjoyed listening to some of the soundtracks that played during the movie which included recent hits as well as the classic song, “These Boots Are Made for Walking.”

Another pro is the Ocean’s 8 movie is rated PG-13 so the whole family can watch it.

Cons of Ocean’s 8

In my opinion, Sandra Bullock seemed a little subdued and too “laid back” in her role; however, as mentioned above, her acting abilities were adequate for the movie.  

There is plenty of dialogue in Ocean’s 8 which, in my opinion slows down the movie. Some of the dialogue does not move the story along such as the “swipe left or right scene” with one of the actors using an app. In my opinion this is one of those movies where if you stepped out of the movie theater for a minute or so and returned -- you would not have missed much.

Additionally, in a few scenes, there was no background music to set the stage for the story.  I think the movie could have featured more background music to help add some type of atmosphere so to speak to some of the scenes.

A major misstep in the movie was casting a late night tv show host as the detective. I’m referring to James Corden who I believe was miscast in Ocean’s 8. In fact, he was my least favorite character in the movie.

The Ocean’s 8 movie started off with a clear plot but towards the end, it began to unravel and became just a mesh of chaotic events.  Spoiler alert: This is one of those movies that withhold scenes and information pertinent to the storyline until the very end. Sometimes this method works for movies, but for Ocean’s 8 -- It did not.

Ocean’s 8 has a high level of unbelievability.  For example, one may wonder how is it that Rihanna who played the tech person, would appear all dressed up at a coveted event when in a previous scene she was probably seen by someone at this event as part of the janitorial staff. (She acted in this role to plant a bug during an office meeting). Spoiler alert: Another unbelievable scene was when Anne Hathaway’s character, Daphne Kluger, pretended she didn’t know what was going on -- but towards the end of the movie reveals that she knew all along that a heist was taking place.

Another drawback of this movie is there is no action or suspense.  I think a few action scenes should have been added to Ocean's 8 instead of the constant barrage of sometimes meaningless dialogue.

Assessment of Ocean’s 8

I wanted to enjoy Ocean’s 8, especially since this is a Sandra Bullock movie.  Unfortunately, the movie fell short in a lot of areas, the biggest of which is entertainment value.  There was no mystery, no suspense, no action, no drama, no unexpected twists -- nothing that would make this movie stand out, or be a “must-see” movie.  I would like to request George Clooney and his friends -- to quickly bring out another Ocean’s movie to try to erase the memory of this one. On the positive side, I liked the idea of having a mostly all female Ocean’s 8 cast-- but i wish the movie could have kept my interest.

I saw Sandra Bullock being interviewed recently, and was surprised that she was not promoting the movie more than she did.  Could it be that she knows, as I do that Ocean's 8 is not up to par with her other movies, such as Miss Congeniality, Gravity, Speed and many others.  That being said, you may want to see the movie just to see Sandra Bullock once again on the big screen -- regardless of the storyline. Plus, if you use your MoviePass, it’s almost like seeing the movie free.

Rating of Ocean’s 8

Based on a rating of 1 to 5 stars with 5 stars being the best, I rate Oceans 8 movie 2 1/2 stars.