A heist job with a difference, Logan Lucky comprises a rag-tag crew who don’t know what they’re doing besides following their luck, and being led by their desperation.
From Steven Soderbergh, director/producer of every Ocean’s film, and architect of devious plans and well-versed thrillers (you just know he could pull off a good heist), comes the original hustle, Logan Lucky. It still ticks all the traditional boxes; twists, clever plans, and disruptions – okay, so there’s much more chaos than sophistication, and that’s because the assembled team aren’t a bunch of hot-shot professionals, but the average “Joe” (ahem, slight dimwits) who are struggling to get by in a run-down town. Fed up with the deals life has figuratively kicked up their backsides, the two Logan brothers; Jimmy (Channing Tatum) and Clyde (Adam Driver) seek to settle the odds and give themselves a chance at the basic things in life. And their target? In keeping with these unsuspecting masterminds, it’s the NASCAR race in North Carolina.
Novices to the world of high-crime (although you can easily imagine they’ve pocketed their share of mint-gum) they go in searching for someone who knows their stuff, and thus enlist the help of Daniel Craig’s character; Joe Bang – appropriately named for he makes things go, well, do I need to say it? BANG! A peroxide shaven-headed muscle-bound hot head, with a degree more intelligence behind his steely cold eyes than the brothers, Bang still follows the Logan in their plan. I mean he has nothing to lose, being incarcerated already (I’ll let you work that out), his addition to the team providing the much-needed experience, or at least you think so, but after all, he’s been caught before.
Credit: Claudette Barius / Fingerprint Releasing | Bleecker Street. Courtesy of Obscured Pictures
Throughout Logan Lucky the well-known phrase you’re in way over your head, repeatedly rings true, their heist plans being less nuanced in their calculations and more guesswork. Especially when watching the Logan brothers formulate their plans which are made worse when they’re forced to include Joe Bang’s cousins; Sam and Fish, who appear to have been hit by lightning way too many times. Turning it into a real family affair, even more so when the Logan brothers include their sister; Mellie. I mean if you can’t trust family to keep silent, who can you? Though each new member of this team seems a weaker link than the one before, being more day-dreamers than brains. However, in having them not be geniuses of planning, they strike you as being far closer to your own villainous plots of theft – that’s if you were as desperate as them – and there lies another difference, this rag-tag team are poor, lack the funding for expensive tools, elaborate escapes, or getaway vehicles (actually, they might have the cars). Still, there’s no second chance to their plan, and so they push ahead in doing the job they need to, not because they can, but because they must…….and you’re not so sure they will.
Credit: Claudette Barius / Fingerprint Releasing | Bleecker Street. Courtesy of Obscured Pictures
In filming Logan Lucky Daniel Craig must have had a real blast as Joe Bang, no pun was intended here, but he is a firework of surprise in the movie (that one was intended). At first, I had a hard time adjusting to Craig in a role that’s a hundred-and-eighty from anything he’s done before, but I soon got lost in the amazing character he creates, and you want more, especially when paired with Adam Driver’s, Clyde. This Logan brother being a moany-panicky man – who is cooler under pressure than you’d expect – but is wound up to near hysterics by Craig’s no-nonsense straight-talking Joe Bang, who delights in winding Clyde up and then watching him spin. The film’s best moments being when these two are placed together, and I would happily see them do a film in the style of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – their partnership being that good. Meanwhile, Channing Tatum’s Jimmy provides the more contemplative and serious moments of Logan Lucky; due to having more to lose, and as such reigns in the other characters. Then there’s Jack Quaid who’s in it so little as Fish Bang, but stands out as the biggest stroke of comedic genius, his character likened to a Bill Hader comedy sketch, making you ask can such a person exist? I certainly hope so, for he makes for a good number of laughs.
Credit: Claudette Barius / Fingerprint Releasing | Bleecker Street. Courtesy of Obscured Pictures
The ending of Logan Lucky was not just good, but unexpected, which is the real surprise in these heist films, although perhaps a little hurried at the end with the addition of extra characters such as Hilary Swanks’ Special Agent Grayson. But with so much material it would be great to see the story continue, and maybe in the form of a mini-series? But either way Logan Lucky will leave you with some big smiles, and some imaginative thoughts as to what will happen next, all while enjoying a fun ride.
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Other notable works:
- The Report 2019
- Red Oaks 2014-2017
- The Knick 2014-2015
- CitizenFour 2014
- Behind the Candelabra 2013
- Far From Heaven 2002
- Insomnia 2002
- Ocean’s Eleven 2001
- Traffic 2000
- Erin Brockovich 2000
- Pleasantville 1998
- King of the Hill 1993
- Sex, Lies and Videotape 1989
Writer: Rebecca Blunt (aka Jules Asner)
