Ocean's 8 (2018) **

So first, I'll have to admit that while I've seen the original “Ocean's Eleven,” starring Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack friends, I've never seen the 2001 remake, starring George Clooney, nor any of its many sequels. So why did I watch this spin-off sequel, starring Sandra Bullock as Danny Ocean's shady sister, Debbie? My wife wanted to watch it.

Fresh out of prison, Debbie has a big heist in mind, so she assembles an all-star cast of crooks, including Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, and Awkwafina. The plan is to steal a priceless, Tiffany necklace full of massive diamonds right off the neck of a movie star (Anne Hathaway) at the Met Gala.

Sounds like fun, right? Well, it is some fun, but not nearly as much as it should be. With this kind of star power, and the standard heist movie playbook to follow, it should be easy to make a decent, entertaining movie. Apparently easy wasn't easy enough for writer/director Gary Ross, who presents the laziest, most half-baked crime story I've seen in a while (which is kind of inexplicable when you consider Ross is known for movies like “Big” and “The Hunger Games.”) These excellent actresses do their best with the material, but there really isn't much to work with. Necklace or no necklace, what Debbie Ocean really steals is a couple of hours of your life.

2 stars out of 5