When planning to rob the Carolina Speedway, it always helps to make bacon, stay organized and build a model using cardboard and toilet paper rolls. These three things alone will guarantee success in convincing your little brother to join you.
After being laid off from his construction job because of his limp, Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum) finds out that his ex-wife is moving his daughter across state lines. With no money for a lawyer, and generally no money at all, Jimmy decides to rob the Carolina Speedway. He need only to convince his one-armed, army vet turned bartender brother, Clyde Logan (Adam Driver), to join him, along with a bunch of other ragtag characters – one still currently in-car-cer-ra-ted. But will the Logan family curse of bad luck doom the brothers?
Director Steven Soderbergh is no stranger to heist movies, having previously directed the Ocean’s trilogy. With three heist movies already, one might think that making a fourth without repeating what’s been done before would be difficult. And it is. As much fun as Logan Lucky is to watch and as creative the method of the robbery, it’s still a typical heist. And no matter whether Soderbergh is or isn’t directing, when it comes to heist movies, originality of plot isn’t high on the features list. The target, team and object of interest might change, but the reveal of the plot doesn’t. It begins with collecting the team, goes through meticulous planning, stuff happens, and then ends with the grand reveal and the twist. A surprise ending no longer much of a surprise.
Simply put, heists are nothing new. But there are good heists and there are great heists and what separates the good from the great is the team. No matter how brilliant the plan, bad the betrayal or stunning the prestige, if the team doesn’t sync, the whole thing falls flat. In Logan Lucky, Soderbergh stepped away from his usual cast of characters, trading in the charismatic and suave con-men for some down-to-earth, simple folk – a completely different class of criminals. They aren’t fancy and they’ve probably never been to Vegas – but they’re just as likable, if not more so simply because of their Carolina drawls.
Tatum and Driver were perfect together, emphasizing each other’s humour and talents in all the best ways. But James Bond returnee Daniel Craig as Joe Bang stole the show. Trading in his British accent for something a little more states side, Craig, the bomb expert was the most memorable part of every scene he was in, cashing in on some one-liners that are instant classics to be quoted for all eternity. And unlike in Spectre, he actually looked like he was having fun.
If you don’t appreciate Soderbergh’s quirky style, then this clever, funny and beautifully-shot heist movie has the potential to disappear among all the others. EXCEPT that its cast is just too great for that to be allowed. Alongside Tatum, Driver, and Craig are Katie Holmes, Hilary Swank, an almost unrecognizable Seth MacFarlane, Sebastian Stan, Riley Keough, and Katherine Waterston. The clichés and gimmicks of its genre are far more easily forgiven when considering the quality of the cast, their performances, and the chemistry they brought to the screen. Letting Logan Lucky slip through the cracks would be unlucky for us all.
Soderbergh decided to make a heist movie to compliment the Ocean’s, keeping the sharp, witty plot, but subverting everything else to see what he got. No Vegas, casinos, or dazzling leading men. Just Carolina, racetracks, and beer-drinking leading men. A heist for the common folk done by the common folk – the “Ocean’s 7-Eleven”.
Rating: 7/10