The all-star all-female cast includes Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett.
A heist caper, like a soufflé, has a simple list of ingredients, but a difficult-to-execute recipe. In Ocean’s 8, Sandra Bullock stars as Debbie Ocean — sister of Danny from the Steven Soderbergh-directed Ocean’s series — who takes the opportunity of parole from prison to plan a huge jewel heist at the annual Met Gala. Her team of collaborators includes women with all the needed skills — Rihanna as the hacker, Mindy Kaling as the diamond expert, Awkwafina as the expert pickpocket, Sarah Paulson as the fence, etc. — giving this scheme a new flavor.
But there’s a general thinness to the personalities for our crew, with the notable exceptions of Helena Bonham Carter as a high-strung fashion designer and Anne Hathaway providing a fun spin on a narcissistic actress. And while the pieces of Debbie’s master plan click into place functionally, director Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, Hunger Games) can’t manage the effortless, crowd-pleasing slickness characteristic of Soderbergh’s films that could make any of the cons that fool on-screen characters actually feel all that surprising to a viewer. It’s a pleasant diversion, but it’s less a soufflé than a nice plate of scrambled eggs.