Logan Lucky review

LOGAN LUCKY:

STEVEN SODERBERGH’S COMEBACK FILM IS HIGH-OCTANE FUN AND OUTRAGEOUSLY FUNNY!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

BLEECKER STREET

(From left to right) Channing Tatum, Riley Keough, and Adam Driver in Logan Lucky

            From director, Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s trilogy, Contagion, Magic Mike) comes Logan Lucky, the first film he’s directed since Behind the Candelabra in 2013. Imagine Ocean’s Eleven but replace all the characters and casino with rednecks and NASCAR, that’s pretty much this movie and it is awesome.

            Thanks to some talented lead actors and a smart and witty script the film takes the heist movie genre and makes it feel new and very humorous. I’ve seen a lot of heist and crime movies before but Logan Lucky was unique because it blended the traditional heist movie tropes with a good sense of humor and it didn’t feel forced or overshadow the crime movie portion, pretty much a smarter version of Tower Heist by a better director.

            The film follows a blue-collar laborer named Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum-G.I. Joe, 21 Jump Street, Magic Mike) whose once-promising football career was ruined by an injury, being laid off from his construction job at the Charlotte Motor Speedway due to liability issues. After a night at a bar run by his brother, Clyde (Adam Driver-Lincoln, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Silence) Jimmy explains a plan to access the Speedway’s pneumatic tube system for transporting money during an upcoming event and steal it in hopes of reversing a family curse.

            Jimmy and Clyde recruit convicted safecracker, Joe Bang (Daniel Craig-James Bond franchise, Defiance, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), his dimwitted brothers, Sam (Brian Gleeson-Love/Hate, Snow White & the Huntsman, Assassin’s Creed) and Fish (Jack Quaid-The Hunger Games 1 and 2, Vinyl, Workaholics) and their own sister, Mellie (Riley Keough-Magic Mike, Mad Max: Fury Road, It Comes at Night). They plan to break Joe out of prison and return him as soon as the heist is over without anyone noticing, sounds complicated but with their skills they might be able to pull it off.

            The film also stars Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy, American Dad, Ted) as Max Chilblain, Katie Holmes (Dawson’s Creek, Teaching Mrs. Tingle, Batman Begins) as Bobbie Jo Logan-Chapman, Katherine Waterston (Being Flynn, Inherent Vice, Steve Jobs) as Sylvia Harrison, country singer and songwriter, Dwight Yoakam as Burns, Sebastian Stan (Hot Tub Time Machine, Black Swan, Marvel Cinematic Universe) as Dayton White, Hilary Swank (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Insomnia, Million Dollar Baby) as Sarah Grayson, David Denman (ER, The Office, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi) as Moody Chapman, Jim O’Heir (Parks and Recreation, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Life After Beth) as Cal, and Macon Blair (Hellbenders, Green Room, Small Crimes) as Brad Noonan.

            Overall, Logan Lucky is a lot of fun and quite possibly one of the best heist movies I’ve seen in a while, it’s easily the funniest. It encompasses everything that made Steven Soderbergh a great filmmaker and even has a few funny references to his other work thrown in here.

            What makes most of the humor work in the film is the chemistry between the characters, Channing Tatum and Adam Driver are very convincing as the two brothers and neither one of them is made out to be a bad guy despite both of them trying to rob a racetrack, the film gives plenty of reasons to care about them and you want them to succeed in the end.

            But who really steals the show is Daniel Craig, Good God this is probably the best I’ve ever seen him in a movie. Whenever I think of him I immediately picture James Bond but his character in Logan Lucky is pretty much the complete opposite and every time he’s on-screen I’m laughing and I’m laughing hard.

            I honestly don’t know what else to say about this movie, it’s a crime movie that’s funny and has great characters and smart writing. I haven’t seen The Hitman’s Bodyguard yet but judging by the reviews and that this movie is more of an independent film Logan Lucky is probably more worth your money and something I urge movie-goers to see before it gets overshadowed by more Hollywood stuff.

            If you’re a fan of Steven Soderbergh, Channing Tatum, and/or Daniel Craig as well as heist comedies, Logan Lucky would be your “Lucky” pick for a movie night. I can guarantee a lot of laughs on top of clever storytelling and a welcome return for Soderbergh as a director.