REVIEW: Ocean's 8

 ★★★½

It is one of my biggest dreams in life to attend the Met Gala. This movie made my heart sing mainly for this reason. But I guess the rest of it was pretty great, too. 

A spinoff of Steven Soderbergh's beloved trilogy, Ocean's 8 put an all-female twist on the heist formula and pulled it off with the poise and elegance of the actual Met Gala itself. With a stellar ensemble cast (and a couple of cameos from familiar faces), it was a dose of pure fun. Uh, hey Debbie, need a ninth member for your crew? 

The film follows Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock), who, following in her brother Danny's path, has just been released from prison after being sentenced for 5 years. And also much like her brother, she immediately begins putting together a major heist to steal a revered, multi-million dollar Cartier diamond necklace that has been stored in an underground vault for the past 50 years. She joins up with her partner-in-crime, Lou (Cate Blanchett), and they begin assembling their team. The group plans to rob the necklace by having it worn to the Met Gala by celebrity actress Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway), who is none-the-wiser, and they quickly begin to carry out their intricate plan. 

The film made great use of humour and had many shining moments from the clear fun the actors had with their characters. An oblivious Mindy Kaling learning how to use Tinder, James Corden's snippy interrogations, and the sole fact we got to see Rihanna play a hacker all contributed to the movie's carefree vibe. It was playful and fluffy, and it wasn't trying to be anything else. 

Technically speaking, it wasn't anything to marvel at, but the editing and transitions did pay homage to the Soderbergh trilogy. The tone was executed far more through the content rather than packaging, which was ultimately suitable considering the carefree vibe that it aimed towards. It would have been nice to see it be taken just that extra step, but I was mostly satisfied with the final product. 

Ultimately, it was nice to see some women in the driver's seat for once. Women don't always necessarily get the chance to partake in a gender-flipping genre twist, and it was fun to watch characters rob jewelry rather than casinos for a change. While perhaps there are some who look disparagingly upon old stories re-done with new faces, I feel like in this instance, it worked. It rejuvenated the franchise, and if it's to live on, what better way than with some badass women taking the wheel?