All I wanted was a fun or thrilling heist flick. What I got in return was everything but fun or thrilling!
Was I bothered with an all female cast? Not in the slightest. Although the connection to the original cast and films was extremely poor and weak but for the sake of my own enjoyment I would not let that get in the way. I was very accepting of the all female crew. Especially since all of them were very lovable. How can't it not be with top notch actresses like Cate Blanchett and Helena Bonham Carter? But the cast is not the problem. How they were written however is very problematic. None of the characters have meat and substance to them. You barely get to know them and they don't seem to have much personality at all. There hardly is any meaningful or compelling dialogue between the characters. Nor is there any banter between them. I mean everyone gets along fine even when most of them don't know each other. Not a hint of rivalry or jealousy between them. Come on that's just unrealistic and unbelievable. Part of the fun in heist films is how these characters act towards each other but in this film there is none of that. Sandra Bullock as Debbie Ocean probably is the weakest character since it never felt like she was this mastermind. The plot goes out of their way to remind you that she is but to actually show a situation where her brilliance is shown? Take her introduction for example. She checks in a hotel masquerading as a guest who changed their mind of checking out. Is it ballsy? Perhaps. But clever. Hardly. It's a shame how I was never made to invest myself into these characters.
The same could be said about the big heist. There is zero tension, suspense or comedy. Because these thieves are perfect in what they do. And that would have been fine had they actually been confronted with unexpected and unforeseen events. No everything goes very smoothly which is boring as hell. I have to admit that I had to commit myself to this film and pinch myself not to fall asleep. I tried watching this several times before and each time I couldn't get into it. I finally managed to however it should give you an indication of how slow and boring this film is. Despite the slick and stylish cinematography. At times this felt like those fancy cinematic commercials where all the fun stuff is cut out.
They could have put in monkeys or aliens in the film and it still wouldn't have made the difference to the viewing experience. Let that sink in for a bit. Ocean's 8 is an empty film. It's devoid of the elements that make heist films compelling. It's not even funny. Forget about this and watch any other Ocean's film including the original with the Rat Pack.
No comments:
Post a Comment