Ocean's 8 - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Ocean's 8

Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
Sequels are a tricky thing to get right, especially when they’re filmed over a decade after the last installment (11 years in this case), and even MORE compounded when it’s a different director then the previous ones (Steven Soderbergh directed all three of the original Ocean’s films) AND you have gender swapped the roles. When this came out in theaters months ago I was VERY suspicious that we were going to have another Ghostbusters remake on our hands. Fans of the originals would find it obnoxious to have a “it’s all girls this time!” sequel (instead of a remake at least), and that it would be blatantly taking advantage of an already established franchise. Well, I can honestly say that while there was some sluggish points to the movie, and that they were obviously riding on the coat tails of the films that came before it, Ocean’s 8 is a fun little heist movie that actually is able to stand on its own two feet as it’s own film a vast majority of the time. The lead characters have their own personalities and the references and cameos from the original Soderbergh films are tastefully done and gives us options to maybe even see a bit of a crossover in the future if things pan out financially for the film (which actually looks decently promising as the $70 million film raked in almost $300 million in box office revenue).

It looks like Danny Ocean (George Clooney) is not the only con man/woman in the family. His sister Debbie (Sandra Bullock) has also lived a bit on the wild side. After her boyfriend and partner Claude (Richard Armitage) throws her under the bus and sends her to jail for a heist HE set up, she’s in the same position Danny was in during Ocean’s 11. She’s out on parole and ready to become a productive and “normal” member of society once more. Pfffft, we all know that’s a crock of hooey. Debbie has been planning for over 5 years the details of a heist so big that even her brother wouldn’t attempt it. Rob the Met Gala in broad daylight, stealing a necklace valued at over $150 million. Like her good brother Danny, Debbie needs a crew, and with the help her buddy Lou (Cate Blanchett) and a host of other skilled thieves, they plan on pulling off the heist of a lifetime.

The thing about heists is, you need to not just have a target, but also set that target up so the picking is a sure thing. Debbie and her motley crew of fashion designers, pick pockets, jewelers and hackers have to make sure that the necklace is IN the Met that night. So, using down on her luck fashion designer Rose Weil (Helena Bonham Carter), they lure in the bait. One Daphne Kluger, THE hottest model in the business at the moment. The prize, a GIGANTIC 6 lb diamond necklace that she will wear for the gala. A necklace that has been meticulously copied and prepped for a swap. Now all that the 8 women have to do is go in, grab the necklace from under a vigilante security force, get it out somehow, and get away with it without the cops or an insurance investigator named John Frazier (James Corden) hanging them out to dry.

I was apprehensive about Ocean’s 8 for good reason. Steven Soderbergh had nothing to do with the project, and the gender swapping thing has usually proven to be a rather rocky angle for any reboot/sequel (mainly because it’s used as a gimmick more than a natural change of events). Luckily the film sticks to the world of Danny Ocean and his heists, while maintaining a certain sense of autonomy and uniqueness. Instead of just replicating Danny’s casino heist from the first film, or trying to make her a clone of Clooney, Gary Ross gives his characters their own personalities and motives. I won’t go into the details of the twists and turns, but needless to say there’s a fairly complicated set of machinations to get the heist to work AND the real reason (or at least a secondary reason) for the heist to begin with.

Bullock is a gem as Debbie Ocean, exuding a sense of confidence and charm that puts her on par with her deceased brother (the film plays back and forth with little hints that his “death “may be slightly exaggerated), but it’s really Helena Bonham Carter that steals the film. She plays a sort of “down on her luck” fashion mogul that is partially comical, and partially genius at the same time. She’s much tamer than how Tim Burton directs her, and she really goes all out with her character. The rest of the crew actually does quite well, with the only exception being Rihanna, who STILL can’t act her way out of a paper bag. The cast meshes well and I like how they kept the whole “female con woman” heist job so natural feeling. It didn’t feel like a social statement, but rather simply Debbie Ocean choosing her own team and using their femininity to their advantage in the heist.

Now, there is a major problem with the film that kept this from being truly great, or even really good. The film lacks a sense of urgency to it that allows the movie to just coast along without any real tension. We all know this is going to go off without a hitch, and there’s no “oh my goodness, will they get caught!” to the narrative. Don’t get me wrong, we all know that Ocean’s 11-13 weren’t exactly unpredictable too, but there was enough twists and double backs to make you wonder HOW they were going to get away with it. Ocean’s 8 just plays out rather flatly, with the audience knowing pretty much every aspect of the plot (except for a few) and the inevitable success comes with zero surprise or fanfare.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for language, drug use, and some suggestive content




4K Video: Video:

Shot on film with a 3.4k resolution camera system, I can only speculate on whether Ocean’s 8 was mastered in 2K or in 4K, but I CAN confirm that the disc shows a notable increased in clarity, resolution, and visual details when comparing the Blu-ray against the 4K UHD disc. The colors are mostly normal, without any extensive color grading, but the gala of colors that comes with the dresses and fancy attire of the fashion world is GLORIOUS in 2160p. Anne Hathaway’s bright red dress pops off the screen, as does the yellows, golds and various shades of pastels and primaries that dot the Met Gala throughout the film. The movie does have a tendency of living in shadows, as the Gala itself has many night time shots, and Debbie’s motley crew does their planning in the darkness of an old warehouse location. Blacks are deep and inky, and the details (whether in shadow or daylight) are really impressive. Faces and clothing shows an appreciable uptick in textures and fine detailing, showing off the lines of Cate Blanchett’s face, as well as fibers and jewely nuances on the body’s of the Gala attendees. The use of HDR and Dolby Vision is quite nice as well, making those richly colored dresses and backdrops at the gala that much more punchy and vibrant. It’s a great looking 4K UHD disc, and whether it was mastered in 2K or 4K doesn’t really matter, as the proof is in the pudding and this pudding is quite good.





Audio:

Unlike many of Warner’s recent Blu-ray/4K releases Ocean’s 8 does not come with a redundant 5.1 DTS-HD MA track to compliment the Atmos track. This means that you don’t have to worry about checking the settings menu and choosing the Atmos track manually (which has been a source of very minor irritation for people). As is, the Atmos track is amazingly good for not being a wild, slam bang, action movie ala Transformers. The mix is energetic and excitable, filled with a fantastic score that uses all channels with great aplomb, culminating with a really immersive use of surrounds (and some discrete overheads) with the Met Gala event itself. The surrounds get full use then with the crowd mumbling, rumbling and chit chatting in the background, and the score really keeps the intensity high. The dialog is clean and intelligible at all times, evenly balanced with the score and never once needing me to raise or lower the volume due to too wide of a dynamic range. The mix doesn’t always call attention to itself and use heavy overheads or massive use of the surrounds, but when the heist gets going it really does put you right into the heart of the event.






Extras:

• A Heist in Heels - Featuruette
• Ocean's Team 3.0 - Featurette
• Reimagining the Met Gala - Fetaurette
• Deleted Scenes

Final Score: ​

Ocean’s 8 is a fun ensemble film that has enough winks and nods to the George Clooney films (even with a few cameos from members of Danny Ocean’s team), yet still managing to live in its own little world as well. The cast got along quite well (with the exception of Rihanna), and the film itself is a solid bit of entertainment. It’s not going rank as high as Ocean’s 11, but still is better than the abysmal Ocean’s 13 (that never should have happened). The 4K UHD disc is a fantastic looking and sounding disc, and the extras palatable. Worth a decent watch at the very least as fun flick.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Richard Armitage, Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter
Directed by: Gary Ross
Written by: Gary Ross, Olivia Milch
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), French (Canadian), Italian, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latin), Portuguese, Russian DD 5.1, English DVS
Subtitles :English SDH, French, Italian SDH, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Cantonese, Danish, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Russian, Swedish, Thai
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 110 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: Own Ocean’s 8 on 4K UHD Combo Pack, Blu-ray combo pack and DVD on September 11, or Own It Now on Digital!

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Decent watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will check it out once available on amazon prime/netflix.

 

[bkeeler10]

Wow, I had almost forgotten about this film. On my watchlist now.

 

[Jon Liu]

I actually have been really eager to watch this. Missed it in theaters, meant to pick it up when it was released, so once it goes back down in price a bit, I will pick this up.

Looks like I shouldn't be too disappointed in the movie itself! Thanks for the review, Mike!

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

Netflix dropped this off last week, finally got a chance to put it in last night. Enjoyed it. Nothing I'd watch again, but it was a fun couple hours.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Netflix dropped this off last week, finally got a chance to put it in last night. Enjoyed it. Nothing I'd watch again, but it was a fun couple hours.

Okay... this comment leaves me intrigued. Might need to give this puppy a spin.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

Okay... this comment leaves me intrigued. Might need to give this puppy a spin.

It's a rental, or a Netflix. I would add that I felt more or less the same about the original films. I wasn't an avid fan of the originals, I don't own any of them, but I've seen them, they were good. So was this.