Logan Lucky (2017)

One of the main reasons that I began writing movie reviews is to bring attention to good, entertaining flicks that might be flying under your radar.  Such is the case with Steven Soderbergh's latest heist flick LOGAN LUCKY.  This is an entertaining movie that moves quickly and has much more under the surface than you might first think.

Strongly and ably directed by Soderbergh, LOGAN LUCKY tells the story of the "cursed" Logan family of West Virginia (Channing Tatum, Adam Driver and Riley Keough) who are facing tough times.  The solution to their problem?  Rob the vault at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.  They enlist the Bang brothers (Jack Quaid, Brian Gleeson and a surprisingly, effectively funny Daniel Craig).  One problem there, Craig's character is currently in jail.

Can this group of seemingly dimwitted West Virginians pull off the caper?  That's the fun of this movie and it's territory that Soderbergh has covered before with the OCEAN'S 11 films (there is even a callback in this flick to those movies when someone calls the robbery OCEAN'S 7/11) and he covers this territory well.  The caper is clever, yet simple.  Soderbergh (or, rather, writer Rebecca Blunt - which is believed to be a pseudonym for someone else) does a clever job of having Tatum's character keep a list of 10 things to think about during a robbery and the script follows these rules, which makes things easy to follow.

But, of course, in these types of films, it is the characters that make (or break) things and Soderbergh has assembled a a crew that is very enjoyable to watch starting with Channing Tatum  (MAGIC MIKE) as Jimmy Logan, a former high school and college football "legend" (at least in West Virginia) who is having trouble making ends meet as a result of a career ending knee injury.  Tatum does a nice job of showing us a thoughtful, rounded human being under the veneer of a West Virginia "hick".  He is joined by his one-armed brother, Adam Driver, (Kylo Ren in STAR WARS)  in another interesting and watchable performance and their sister, Mellie (Riley Keough, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD) a performer who I knew little about before this film, but is one that I will be keeping an eye on going forward.

The film picks up energy with the introduction of the Bang brothers.  Dim-witted (and I do mean dim-witted) Fish and Sam Bang (an unrecognizable Jack Quaid and Brian Gleeson, son of Brendan) - who gave me 2 or 3 strong, burst out-loud laughs and their older brother, explosives expert Joe Bang.  This was the best, most surprising part - Joe Bang is played with a continual twinkle in his eye by James Bond himself, Daniel Craig.  You can see the danger in his eyes and movements but you can also detect a layer of intelligence in his portrayal, all the while keeping the "wink" in his eye that let's you know that he (and we) are having fun.  Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Dwight Yoakim's turn as the head of the prison where Joe Bang is incarcerated.  I want to see a film of Yoakim running this prison.  There is so much story there to mine.

The film isn't perfect - there is a subplot involving a NASCAR driver (Sebastian Stan - Bucky in the AVENGERS films) and his owner (a miscast Seth McFarlane) that goes nowhere and Katherine Waterston is wasted in the "love interest for Tatum" role, but all-in-all, I had a good time at this film and I think you will, too.

It's the perfect film for a rai

Fmovies: I liked it even more after reading Steven Soderbergh's interview about cutting out big studios from the profits and sharing it with the crew instead. Good for him! "The film is also an answer to questions he's been grappling with his whole career: What if you could make a movie that cut out studios entirely, allowing the filmmaker to do as he or she pleased? What if infamously shady studio accounting could be reduced to something as simple as a password-protected website, where everyone involved with the film— from the producers to the costume designer to Adam Driver— could simply log on and see how much money the film had made, and what percentage of that money was theirs?"

Logan Lucky tells the story of Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum), a man down on his luck. He lost his job on a construction site because he has a limp he didn't report when he applied (and doesn't affect his job as a driver). He's divorced with a wife moving away who has full custody of his daughter. He has a brother, Clyde (Adam Driver), a bartender who lost his hand in one of the many wars. It's referred to locally as the Logan Curse. The Logans' simply seem unable to catch a break.

Perhaps, there's a chance for their luck to change. Jimmy reveals to Clyde a complex heist plan he's put together that could help their lives exponentially. The plan is so complex it even involves breaking Joe Bang (Daniel Craig) out of prison, getting his help, and getting him back in prison without anyone noticing he's gone.

Logan Lucky is a fun and quirky movie. It's filled with characters that could easily be cut from the film and bare no impact on the final product. Seth MacFarlane's Max Chilblain, Katherine Waterston's Sylvia Harrison, and Sebastian Stan's Dayton White could all be cut from the film and the story would play out exactly the same. Their inclusion in this film is baffling.

However, much of that is moot since when this movie works, it very entertaining. From the cast, the real highlight is Craig's Joe Bang. A man who appears rather simple and is very crass, yet proves through the movie that is he unusually intelligent. In many ways Tatum's Jimmy Logan has many of these qualities though not nearly as crass.

Although, I can spend the rest of the review praising the cast for all doing a great job (even the unnecessary ones), the real star of this film is Steven Soderbergh's direction. Returning to the chair after a very short lived retirement. He shows that his four year break has done nothing to dampen his eye for film.

This is that rare film that is equal parts style and substance. There's a clear story here about how we can create our own luck as long as we're willing to take the opportunities when they present themselves. Logan Lucky is hardly a flawless film by any means. It does have a tendency to meander, but never too far off. Two hours with the Logans are two hours you won't regret.

Logan Lucky fmovies. Logan Lucky is first and foremost a heist movie. Arguably it's the first of its kind this decade, since the last time a really good movie of this stripe has focused on downhill good 'ol boys pulling an all-American snatch-and-grab, Burt Reynolds was still relevant. In its advertising the film mentions itself in the same breath as Ocean's Eleven (2001) but aside from both having the same director, the two couldn't be more miles apart. One's about career confidence men drinking fancy martinis. The other's about petty criminals snatching chump change from concession drawers. One's essentially Michael Caine, the other is Steve Martin.

As such, Logan Lucky doesn't come with the standard beats and rhythms of your average Italian Job (2003). It's slower, quirkier, meanders down narrative avenues then calls it all back in drastically different ways. While doing so it's also more human, more sympathetic calling to mind the best aspects of The Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958) with a uniquely Appalachian twang.

Recently let go from his construction job due to, "liability reasons with insurance," former football prodigy Jimmy Logan (Tatum) decides to put in motion a robbery plan he's obviously been thinking about for some time. He recruits his siblings, hairdresser Mellie (Keough) and one-handed bartender Clyde (Driver), to aid him. Then they knock on the door of infamous local demolitions expert and safe cracker Joe Bang (Craig) whose incarceration proves the first snag of many to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

As with all heist movies, much of the entertainment stems from the tension created when the plan, as described to the satisfaction of the audience deviates ever so slightly risking exposure. What Logan Lucky doesn't just get right but gets near darn perfect is the way it plays with that convention. Large problems seem to wash over the ensemble with increasing grace almost as if they know they can rely on their community; family and own God-given intelligence to carry the day. Minor problems come across as inspired character moments for which Jimmy, Joe Bang and his brothers (Quaid and Gleeson) show their goofy, simple, superstitious selves.

I say goofy and simple not to be derivative, though if that's what you take from it then the film's prestige may come as a more pleasant surprise than you could hope for. Much of the plan relies on other characters, such as a stuffy prison warden (Yoakam) and a haughty race promoter (MacFarlane) to underestimate our ensemble's abilities.

The film does an excellent job humanizing our heroes by exploring and framing their environments as a point of fact. Jimmy doesn't live in squalor; he lives in a cozy house overlooking the West Virginia hills. Clyde isn't a one-handed freak, he's a war hero and a dedicated bartender to boot, Mellie, a capable getaway driver, the Bang brothers - professional bandits who "know all the twitters". The camera further highlights this by panning and gliding at low angles making everyone loom larger; everyone including a late third act addition in Hilary Swank as a resourceful FBI investigator.

The film is not without its faults. The pacing seems to shift up and down like a Mustang barreling down the Eastbound I-64. And despite its knack for air-tight alibis, Logan Lucky leaves the audience hanging with a lot of unanswered questions. Given the controversy surrounding the financing of the film, there's little doubt a sequel is

A few years ago director Steven Soderbergh made no secret of his waning passion for filmmaking. He announced his intention to retire from feature films following the release of 2013's Behind the Candelabra and cited his desire to pursue other creative interests. Well, it may have taken four years (and a brief stint directing TV's The Knick) to reignite his filmmaking passion, but Soderbergh proves his hand behind the camera is as assured as ever in the rollicking heist caper Logan Lucky.

Aptly described by Soderbergh himself as an "anti-glam version of an Ocean's movie", Logan Lucky is a return to the style of filmmaking that made his Ocean's trilogy box office hits. The film moves at a neat pace, features a strong ensemble cast and is packed with enough twist and turns to keep things interesting throughout its two hour running time.

The story follows the Logan family, brothers Jimmy (Channing Tatum) and Clyde (Adam Driver) and their sister Mellie Logan (Riley Keough), who are known for their family history of bad-luck. After loosing his job at a mine located underneath the Charlotte Motor Speedway, Jimmy plans to pull of an elaborate heist to put the Logan's financial woes behind them and break the family curse. With intricate knowledge of a series of underground tubes that run from the Speedway to a central bank vault filled with millions of dollars, Jimmy sees the perfect opening to rob the vault during a NARSCAR race. To pull it off, he enlists the help of his siblings along with bomb expert Joe Bang (a scene stealing Daniel Craig) and his two brothers, Sam (Brian Gleeson) and Fish Bang (Jack Quaid). The only problem: Joe's in prison. So on top of concocting a plan to steal the cash, they'll need to figure out a way to break Joe out of prison and get him back with no one the wiser. No pressure.

It's a zany comedy about unremarkable characters punching well above their weight but through sheer luck managing to pull things off. Half the fun of the film is seeing things not happening to plan but somehow working out in the end. To its credit, the film never treats itself too seriously and invites you to laugh along with the character's mishaps and the farcical parts of the story are frequently the funniest. One gag involving a prison riot and a jab at Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin's glacial writing pace is as screwy as it is funny.

For the most part, the film moves along at a nice pace. Just like in the Ocean's films, Soderbergh (who edits his own film) employs slick, fast cut editing to keep the heist scenes interesting and involving. He also manages to make good use of an impressive ensemble cast, with the likes of Seth MacFarlane, Katie Holmes, Katherine Waterston and Sebastian Stan all making minor but memorable appearances. And while Adam Driver and Channing Tatum both give impressive performances, the standout is an almost unrecognisable Daniel Craig playing blue-collar criminal Joe Bang. An explosions expert sporting a heavy southern accent and bright blonde hair, he's an anti-glam version of Bond if you will. It's Craig's impeccable comedic timing that will make you wish the Bond films would let him exercise his comedic chops a little bit more.

It's only in the last act that the film starts to feel a little played out. The introduction of Hillary Swank as a Special Agent in the last 20 minutes of the film feels a little rushed and ultimately doesn't really go anywhere. Instead, the story continues

I saw this film at a drive-in, and it was the second film in the double feature I had gone to see. For the culturally deprived, drive-ins still show two features. Anyway, this film was a revelation. At first I had expected that the working-class characters would fall into their designated stereotypes and we'd chug along to an easily-expected finish.

Not so much.

Actually, the characters were nicely filled out, there were stereotypes but not the ones I expected, and the movie had some rather nice convolutions to it and contrary to some other reviewers I found the late-arriving Hillary Swank to be a really interesting addition to the cast - and a possible bell-weather to a sequel. Just sayin'. There was comedy, drama, some real-world concerns and a lot more. Go see it. The cast and script alone will make it worth your while.