While watching “Oceans Eleven” back in 2001 did you ever
wonder what that heist comedy (directed by prolific auteur Steven Soderbergh)
would be like if it was not about glamorous thieves robbing a snazzy Las Vegas
casino but about a group blue collar folks from West Virginia and North
Carolina who decide to rob a NASCAR track? Well, Soderbergh did, and he’s come
out of retirement (from feature filmmaking) to make “Logan Lucky--” the
exuberant redneck “Oceans Eleven” remake you didn’t know you wanted.
The film primarily revolves around brothers Jimmy (Channing
Tatum, in his fourth collaboration with Soderbergh) and Clyde Logan (Adam
Driver) who are down on their luck. Jimmy was a high school football
star/failed NFL prospect, while Clyde got his hand blown off in Iraq. Believing
that their entire family is cursed, they decide to rob the Charlotte Motor
Speedway during a major race. It’s one of those elaborate, outrageous heists
that can only be pulled off in the movies. Among other components, the brothers
will need to break well-known safe buster Joe Bang (Daniel Craig) out of jail
for the job and then sneak him back into jail without anyone noticing. The
Logan brothers also enlist the help of Joe’s brothers, Sam (Brian Gleeson) and
Fish (Jack Quaid).
Despite how that plot synopsis might read, the dramatic
stakes aren’t particularly high in “Logan Lucky.” The picture’s tone is loose
and playful, while the pacing is relaxed all the way through. The mechanics of
the heist can be confusing and not a lot of things really go wrong, even during
the extended heist sequence itself. There are a few minor narrative hiccups the
characters run into along the way but overall everything goes very smoothly,
perhaps too smoothly for a film about a heist. In this regard, “Logan Lucky” can feel predictable.
On top of that, the motivation for wanting to rob the
racetrack in the first place is hazy and lacking in urgency. Soderbergh and
screenwriter Rebecca Blunt (who
may or may not be a real person) don’t establish the Logan brothers as
desperate people who are caught in a bind and forced to commit a crime. Yes,
they’re middle to lower class and Jimmy loses his blue-collar job at the
beginning but the decision to execute the heist is treated very casually. That
might have been okay, except that the film also doesn’t establish these
characters as the career criminal types who would want to pull off such an
elaborate crime.
And yet, “Logan Lucky” is still a lot of fun, primarily due
to the cast and Blunt’s witty screenplay. In addition to Tatum and Driver, who
turn in amusing and earnest performances, Soderbergh assembles a superb
ensemble cast made up of young and old talent including: Daniel Craig, Riley
Keough, Katie Holmes, Dwight Yoakam, Hilary Swank and Katherine Waterston,
among others. Some of these actors only pop in for a scene or two (usually in a
nonchalant manner) but they always make a memorably goofy impression. Also, can
I say how great it is to see Craig playing a character that isn’t Bond,
especially an eccentric, bleach blonde haired safe buster? Mr. Craig, you’ve
been missed.
Aside from the cast, what keeps us engaged in “Logan Lucky”
are the small comedic moments and details rather than the broad narrative beats.
The nutty, bumbling interactions between the Logan and Bang brothers as they
painstakingly plan the robbery. Those little quirks that make the characters
feel human instead of comedic caricatures (Clyde’s insistence that he lost his
hand and not his arm). Those off beat, absurdist scenes that make you forget
about the film’s predictable nature.
For example, the Logan brothers meet one of Joe’s contacts
nicknamed “The Bear” to acquire some materials for the heist, who turns out to
be a man in a bear suit; a delightfully out of left moment that generated a
hardy laugh from the audience at my preview screening. On a scene-by-scene
basis, “Logan Lucky” is packed with laughs. It may not be great but
Soderbergh’s return to filmmaking is a light, entertaining affair.
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