Oh, the fuzz about this movie and its red-carpet premiere in Lagos had me wondering if a Nigerian had featured. This isn’t one of my top anticipated movies of this year, but I am a huge fan of George Clooney’s salt and pepper beards and his O​cean’s series.

Apparently, the girls decided they wanted to steal something big too, if the men can meticulously plan a heist and steal big, we women are just as strategic and cunning and can pull it off. 

As usual, if you haven’t seen the trailer do the needful and let’s talk.

This movie is a galaxy; star-studded, with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, also featuring a number of familiar characters from the earlier Ocean movies. There’s Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, but it doesn’t quite shine.

Sandra Bullock as Debbie Ocean, sister to Danny Ocean, is the mastermind. Here, she’s fresh out of prison and straight off to shoplifting and credit card fraud and I am shook. So much for the “simple life”. I am embarrassed to admit I caught myself wondering if I could get away with robbing a high-end store so deftly.

Debbie Ocean had spent the last 5 years, 8 months and 12 days devising her biggest heist. She immediately began pulling together a team and laying out plans to bring her dream to life. To my chagrin, it became clear that the theme and plot of this one was the same as the other Ocean movies, only the lead characters here were women.

It’s the Decade of Feminism; where if they can do it, so can we, even if it is downright criminal. This sums up this movie. It just felt cliche and lacking originality.

But what’s originality if each woman walks away with $16.5 million dollars?

The movie had a few hilarious scenes, a number of surprising plot twists, and some really intense moments, making it somewhat thrilling. In addition, the secret revenge plot skillfully woven into this story gave the movie a bit of an edge. I didn’t really appreciate the “man-trouble” angle but relationship problems seem to be characteristic of the Ocean series.

Next, I was shocked and still confused about Danny Ocean’s tomb, dated 2018. When did he die? I mean, did I miss it at some point? If you have the answers please let me know in the comments.

In addition, an all-female gang should have had Tess (Julia Roberts) somewhere in all this. Don’t you think?

Oh, Riri Navy hyped this movie so much, it would have been a crime not to see it. Here, Rihanna played the weed-smoking computer hacker; Nine Ball, undermining the security computers in the museum, while surviving the worst wardrobe on the whole set. Perhaps it’s just me but like her performance in Valerian, I just didn’t feel like she embodied the role. Maybe I need to get over her sexual, make-up and lingerie image. Hacker, no. I feel like producers used her popularity to sell this movie, same as the last time.

It is not a deep movie but you’ll get a few laughs out of it. Do I recommend it? Sure. Perhaps a girls’ night out?  I’d say it’s definitely a chic-flick.

It is family friendly, no blood, sex or nudity, and no strong language really, although your kids might start shop-lifting in the local supermarket or something, I don’t know how you’d explain the moral perspective on this one

Would I watch it again, most likely not. Beautiful, intelligent women doing what men were either tired of, jailed or killed for, led by a scorned woman is just not a classic. It probably wasn’t meant to be such.

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Have you seen Ocean’s 8? Let me know what you think in the comments!
As always, thank you for reading!
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