Ocean's 8 (2018)

3 Stars (out of 4)

Debbie Lifting

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Thanks to some tough, lovely, self-assured women, Ocean's 8 has just about as much flash and swagger as the 2001 reboot of Ocean's Eleven, and more than the 1960 original or the sequels.

Debbie Ocean (the sister of George Clooney's Danny, played by Sandra Bullock), is the ringleader. She gets out of jail on parole, promises that she's going to go straight, and immediately embarks upon a plan she's cooked up while inside to steal an invaluable hunk of jewelry by getting a movie star (Anne Hathaway) to wear it to the Met Gala.

She enlists several thieves (Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Rihanna, and Helena Bonham Carter) with different skillsets, and it's a wonderfully diverse, varied group that seem to have good chemistry and comic timing together.

The plot is crafty and playful, carefully explaining things before they happen so we can follow along and gasp as they go off track. It's a shame that a man, Gary Ross, had to direct it, and not to mention one whose work can be so blandly ordinary (Seabiscuit, The Hunger Games). Fortunately, his lighter works (Big, Dave, Pleasantville) tend to sparkle, and he gives this one just the right shine.

Warner Home Video's 2018 Blu-ray release is technically superb, both picture and sound. Extras include two deleted scenes (about 2 minutes total), featurettes: "Reimagining the Met Gala" (12 minutes), "A Heist in Heels" (12 minutes), and "Ocean's Team 3.0" (13 minutes). There are several language tracks and optional subtitles, a batch of trailers at startup, plus a DVD and a digital copy.