Logan Lucky (2017)

Review

118min

Genre:     Comedy, Crime

Director:  Steven Soderbergh

Cast:       Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig…and more

Writer:    Rebecca Blunt

-Synopsis-

After falling on hard times, a modest southern man hatches an intricate plan to stage a heist at a major NASCAR race, co-opting his loyal unfortunate brother and spirited sister to break their so-called family curse, while recruiting a rag-tag crew to pull off the unlikeliest of jobs in another all-star caper film from visionary director Steven Soderbergh.

Everyone loves a heist movie, don’t they?, and no one does an intricate ensemble caper film better than Steven Soderbergh, having helmed 2001’s ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ and its two sequels. Now the Oscar-winning director focuses his eye for detail and extensive crime fiction experience—not to mention a quirky comedic sensibility—on the modern-day American south, bringing together an all-star cast for some stylish ‘good ol’ boy’ high jinks.

Channing Tatum stars as humble hard-working West Virginian ‘Jimmy Logan’, trying to do right by his young daughter while keeping his relationship with his ex-wife (Katie Holmes) civil, only to abandon the straight-and-narrow when he loses his job and decides to orchestrate the heist of a Southern institution—the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Enter his misfit crew; the glum one-armed brother ‘Clyde’ (Adam Driver) and southern belle sister ‘Mellie’ (Riley Keough), plus local jailbird bank robber ‘Joe Bang’ (Daniel Craig) and his own self-styled siblings—to pull off the unlikely score to cure all their ills and make them hillbilly Robin Hoods.

The parallels between ‘Loan Lucky’ and the ‘Ocean’s’ series are not a coincidence here, with Soderbergh making no bones about crafting a southern working-class version of those movies, even referencing the George Clooney-led caper in the film—and the comparisons with ‘Coenesque‘ quirky character comedies are fair, only with a lighter tone and a more innocent and earnest quality.

Yet this isn’t exactly a riotous, madcap laugh-fest of a comedy, but a slightly more subtle romp with eccentric characters  which plays with regional stereotypes but never quite stoops to ridicule—instead lovingly parodying the many different aspects of the modern south and family life in the American heartland, while ultimately proving good-natured and even slightly heartfelt at times.

Most of the eclectic cast get their chance to shine, with Tatum as the head Logan proving the stoic mastermind and narrative rock on which the film is built, and Driver as the loyal brother and melancholic supporting act is equally solid, while the rest of the cast get to express their respective southern idiosyncrasies around them—and yes Daniel Craig is convincing enough as the heavily-tatted, self-styled southern con, certainly more convincing than Seth MacFarlane as the brash British businessman anyway.

This film is polished in terms of production design and shooting style, despite being an indie production, with Soderbergh using trademark techniques and stylish cuts, and upping the cool factor by once again collaborating with composer David Holmes—who brings another ultra-funky and driving score, which he combines with some classic country tracks.

Yet for all the intricacy surrounding the heist, this is neither a particularly flashy or complex caper, with no real sense of one-upmanship when it comes to the films which inspired it, but proving instead to be a enjoyable and unpretentious breezy ensemble piece where the characters and their dynamics are as important as the heist itself. So for those looking for an ingenious plot and a meticulously executed and explained heist, ‘Logan Lucky’ might be something of a letdown.

‘Logan Lucky’ may not be the most inventive or engrossing heist film you’ve seen, nor is it the most memorable quirky character farce in recent years, but the combination of factors make this a genuinely enjoyable and un-self-conscious light-hearted comedy which doesn’t take itself too seriously, simultaneously painting the modern American south in a positive light while poking some good-natured fun at some of its cultural quirks—and once again proves that full-service filmmaker Steven Soderbergh is unbound by genre or convention.

The Bottom Line…

Steven Soderbergh continues to expand his cultural and cinematic horizons with a light and breezy but thoroughly entertaining prison break and heist caper, thanks to a stylish but simple execution and an eclectic ensemble cast, subtly bringing their quirky characters to life. ‘Logan Lucky’ may not be the most memorable or idiosyncratic comedy farce, but there’s enough here to make it more than just a hillbilly ‘Ocean’s Eleven’.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Ocean’s Eleven (2001)

A talented conman wastes no time upon being released from prison when he hatches an outrageous and intricate plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos in one go, in this all-star heist caper remake of the Frank Sinatra classic from visionary filmmaker Steven Soderbergh.

Directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts among others.

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