Ocean's Eight (Dir. Gary Ross, 1h 50m)

Having rather missed out on the rest of the Steven Soderbergh directed franchise that follows beloved heister Danny Ocean (played by George Clooney), and his team as they con and merrily steal millions of dollars from unsuspecting marks, I didn't quite know what to expect from Ocean's Eight, the fourth film in the series, and the first to focus on the rest of the Ocean family, as sister Debbie (Sandra Bullock) carries on the family tradition, gets revenge, and brings a motley crew along for the ride. Yet, Oceans Eight is an enjoyable, if slightly uneven romp, its female cast bringing colour to what may otherwise have been a rather dull and routine flick.

As with the previous outings, the best thing about the Oceans series is the crew that Ocean builds around herself, from partner-in-crime Lou (a surprisingly acid-tongued Cate Blanchet, who the film introduces running a vodka bootlegging ring), and a delightfully dotty bit of typical Helena Bonham Carter-character acting as pretentious has-been fashion designer Rose Weil, to hacker Nine Ball (Rihanna), and street hustler Constance (Awkwafina). The film not only takes time to build these eight into interesting, likable characters-with a smaller cast, compared to the previous films, there's more time to build the rapport between them, as well as making them truly representative of American society.

Arranged against them are a veritable rogue's gallery of marks, from Anne Hathaway's airheaded actress, Daphne Kluger, who undergoes some surprisingly unexpected character development later in the film, and proves herself not just to be the "prettiest neck" around which the film's goal, the Toussaint, a $150 million Cartier diamond necklace, is hung, but just as capable, and deceptive as the rest of Ocean's team. Richard Armitage plays a former flame of Debbie, whose doublecrossing during a mark led to her lengthy imprisonment-needless to say, the heist is not the only thing on her mind, and the film ties both it and revenge together well.

Yet, surprisingly, for an actor that I've never particularly had time for, it is James Corden's turn as an employee for the insurance company, who emerges in the third act to find out exactly what has happened to the necklace, that is particularly enjoyable, if only because Corden, like the audience, almost want Debbie to get away with it, as he wanders between scenes with the various parties-if one thing could have been changed about the film, a greater interweaving of his scenes with the action earlier in the film could have added an interesting, if artsy angle to the film.

Perhaps the most satisfying thing about this film, other than it being a refreshing twist on the typical Oceans formula, is what I can best describe as the construction and "winding up" of the film's action, like an intricate watch or mechanism, as Debbie builds her team, works out the various logistics of the heist, brought bang up to date, complete with 3D printers, data-glasses and all manner of hacking and digital espionage, before the heist begins, and the mechanism begins to tick through, to unwind, with some excellent setpieces, some surprising twists and turns, and an atmosphere, that, for all of its rather slavishly fashionista and lavishly clad trappings, is fun.

Ocean's Eight may not be the brightest film, nor, despite its female-centric cast, the most daring, of the summer, but nevertheless, it's an entertaining romp of a film.

Rating: Recommended