Caught Ocean’s 8… this is the spin-off or sequel or continuation of the Ocean’s 11 franchise. It stars Sandra Bullock as the sister of George Clooney’s Danny Ocean who is allegedly – but not convincingly – dead. This is somewhat of a gender-flip on the series but is really just another heist flick, now with a new cast picked to match the venue of the crime.

Bullock gets out of jail and immediately sets out to rob a 15 million dollar necklace from the Met Gala in NYC. She brings along with her Cate Blanchette, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling, and… ermm… Awkafina. Not sure who Awkwafina is given the name brand recognition of the rest of the cast but I’ll assume that that’s my blind spot, not theirs. She’s fine though – she’s having as much fun as the rest of the cast is. The Oceans movies have never been what you might call “serious”… and that’s not a crime.

You might note I listed seven stars of the film and the title is Ocean’s 8. There’s an eighth miscreant who joins the heist… though technically, there’s actually two. Or maybe three. But they can’t call it Ocean’s 9 since then they could only make one more sequel before hitting Ocean’s 11. Regardless, the cast also includes Anne Hathaway as the vapid, vain Hollywood star with the necklace they want to steal, James Cordon as an insurance investigator, and at least two cameos from the previous Oceans movies (shh!).

The heist, as noted, is the Met Gala fashion show… thingy. An event I’m vaguely aware of as a touchstone of something involving fashion or movie stars or whatever. I’m being deliberately dismissive as this is not something I follow and the film is clearly designed for people who will be agape at the beauty and aesthetics on display. I appreciate it as a concept but I think someone more linked in will be watching a different, more glamorous movie. More power to ’em… I’m just left wondering if an all-female cast of criminals is a net positive for representation if their heist involves pretty dresses and sparkly diamonds. But, on the other hand, that’s the point of assembling a gang of women… they can better infiltrate such an event. Makes sense. Moving on.

Ocean’s 8 follows the usual heist film tropes… assemble a team, give us some (but not much) time with each character, show some planning, the event, and then the post-investigation where we learn there was more to the heist than the audience even knew. This movie does it all and it is usually lively, jazzy, energetic, and fun. Maybe the time spent assembling the team could have been better and, as noted, not all characters get enough screen-time. But that’s par for the course when you have eight characters.

Overall, this is a fine, fun film in the heist genre. The cast is generally likable and the heist itself pretty fun (more so if you can appreciate the bling). I’d argue it goes on a little long past the heist itself but that’s kind of in the nature of these films. Not too big a crime (pun intended).

Score: 81