Director Steven Soderbergh
Genre Comedy
Cast Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig, Riley Keough
Rating PG-13
Release Date August 18th, 2017
“Two brothers attempt to pull off a heist during a NASCAR race in North Carolina.”
Logan Lucky is a heist comedy from director Steven Soderbergh, and is the screenwriting debut for Rebecca Blunt. Set in West Virginia, the film highlights the planned heist of The Charlotte Motor Speedway, during one of their busiest races of the year. The cast includes Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig, and Riley Keough.
Smartly written, funny, and more importantly one heck of a good time, Logan Lucky is a very solid return for talented director Steven Soderbergh. After watching the initial trailer, I honestly had some mixed feelings. On one hand the cast was fantastic and Soderbergh behind the camera had me undoubtedly intrigued, but the trailer left me with more questions than answers. Was this a goofy comedy in the same realm as Talladega Nights? Or was it something more? The trailer had me leaning more towards the goofy comedy side of things but once the second trailer made its debut my feelings changed. The second trailer made it clear that this was more than just a goofy comedy, and the talented cast was supported by a script more than worth the paper it was printed on (assuming they still go old school with paper copies of course). Logan Lucky is a film about family and sacrifice first and foremost, but it is also a crafty heist story with a hefty dose of comedic energy. What I enjoyed most about this movie is how genuine and authentic everything felt. Each and every laugh felt natural and not even a little bit forced, which is honestly pretty rare. The characters grow on you from the start, and audiences will know right away who it is they should be rooting for.
The script is fantastic and will have you talking about the movie long after you leave the theater. I was actually very impressed to learn that Logan Lucky was written by a woman by the name of Rebecca Blunt, who many people have actually questioned as to whether she even exists or not. Steven Soderbergh has been known to concoct a sort of alias as a screenwriter credit even though in actuality he wrote the script himself. He swears that is not the case here, and the woman with a background in journalism with only Logan Lucky as a credit according to her IMDb page, does actually exist. He goes on to say that she is actually a friend of his wife, and says that he was out in a rather precarious position when asked to consider turning her script into a movie. Clearly he didn’t want to upset the woman who determines his happiness. Interestingly, Blunt is actually from West Virginia, and she did some research on The Charlotte Motor Speedway, which ignited her imagination in terms of the meat and potatoes of the script. Soderbergh, who said he would be retiring from directing movies after the 2013 made for TV movie Behind the Candelabra (don’t worry if you haven’t heard of this, it is news to me as well), makes a strong return. He was quoted in an interview as saying that initially he had planned to pass on the script to another capable director, but he enjoyed reading it so much and felt it was somewhat of a “poor man’s Oceans movie”, and trust me he meant this in a good way, he decided to take it on himself. Soderbergh is undeniably one heck of a talented director, churning out hit titles such as Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and Oceans Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen. He clearly has a man crush on Channing Tatum, after working with the star actor on Haywire, Magic Mike, Side Effects, and now Logan Lucky, but really can you blame him? Tatum is one heck of an actor and has earned his rightful place as one of Hollywood’s best as of late, and I don’t care who wants to try and argue that point. I am getting a bit off track here but the fact of the matter remains; Soderbergh has an eye for talent and knows how to make a great movie.
The cast in Logan Lucky is absolutely spot on from top to bottom. Channing Tatum takes center stage in the lead role, and he is fantastic as expected. I am more than okay with admitting the fact that I have developed a man crush on Tatum over the years (as an actor, nothing weird), having watched him take on comedic and dramatic roles with ease. More than anything else, Tatum understands what it means to embrace a role and to be genuine, which he executes seamlessly in Logan Lucky. Audiences will be able to relate with Tatum’s character, a single dad struggling to make ends meet who understands that he has a responsibility that stands above all else, which is taking care of and providing for his young daughter. Adam Driver, who I first became familiar with in the HBO series Girls, is absolutely taking Hollywood by storm as of late. First he snagged a pivotal role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, then he was terrific in the critically acclaimed indie drama Paterson, followed up by a crucial role in Martin Scorsese’s Silence. Driver has incredible range as an actor, and I have learned that one of his biggest strengths is playing a character that is much more than meets the eye. He develops incredible chemistry with Tatum, and I would be genuinely surprised if this is the last time we see these two on-screen together. Last but certainly not least, Daniel Craig plays one of the best roles in the film. The former James Bond actor stars as convicted and currently “en-car-cer-rate-ed” felon Joe Bang. From the accent, to the tattoos, right down to the ridiculous and priceless bleached blonde crew-cut, Craig damn near steals the show. He is the perfect addition to the talented duo of Tatum and Driver, and he rounds things out nicely.
Logan Lucky is leaps and bounds smarter than the usual dumbed down heist comedy (Masterminds anyone?), offering viewers not only a great talent behind the camera, but also a quality script and a very talented cast. As much as I enjoyed it during my first viewing, I do feel that it would be even better seeing a second time, making it easier to pay more attention to the small well-crafted details. Steven Soderbergh bursts out of “retirement” to the surprise of pretty much no one, considering at this point and time if he takes on a project it would need to be worthwhile. Logan Lucky may not be my favorite film of 2017, but it is easily in my top 10 and I am looking forward to my second viewing and the inevitable replay ability of yet another Soderbergh classic.
