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Almost four decades into his career,Steven Soderberghstill somehow keeps finding new ways to surprise us. As maybe the most prolific independent filmmaker of his generation, his movies can never be mistaken for studio rush jobs. While not every work of his is a hit, his track record remains remarkably consistent after all this time. Among his many classics, his debut,Sex, Lies and Videotaperemains an intimate and thoughtful gem,Out of Sightis a wildly entertaining ride, and he reinvented the heist film for a new generation with his wonderfulOcean’s Eleventrilogy.
Yet for as massive a filmography as Soderbergh has, arguably one of his best is 2017’sLogan Lucky, his return to filmmaking after a brief retirement. Sadly, it also stands as one of his most overlooked; despite massive critical acclaim,it flopped at the box office, barely recouping its $29 million budgetand facing harsh competition fromAnnabelle: CreationandThe Hitman’s Bodyguard. Nonetheless,Logan Luckyholds up as one of the best heist movies of the last decade, and it deserves the audience it’s finding on Netflix.
Logan Lucky
What Happens in Logan Lucky?
Logan Luckyprimarily focuses on Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum), a blue-collar construction worker and former football player forced to retire after a leg injury.Unexpectedly, he gets laid off from his job, and in desperate need of money, he turns to his brother Clyde (Adam Driver), an Iraq War veteran who lost his arm in combat.
Having previously helped construct the tunnels underneath the Charlotte Motor Speedway,Jimmy hatches a plan to rob the racetrack in order to get rich quickly. Most of the film’s first half,as is typical of the heist genre, entails Jimmy and Clyde putting together a team to pull off the scam. Their ranks are joined by a well-rounded group where all the actors thankfully get ample opportunity to shine.
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Riley Keough plays Jimmy’s sister, Mellie, who joins as the getaway driver. She quickly proves herself to be easily the smartest member of her family, allowing Keough the opportunity to deliver delightfully deadpan work. Jimmy also recruits Joe Bang (a beautifully unhinged Daniel Craig), an imprisoned safe-cracker, to be his demolitions expert, and Joe, in turn, recruits his dimwitted brothers, Sam and Fish, to help him. In his downtime, Jimmy reunites with a former classmate, Sylvia (Katherine Waterston), for whom he still has lingering feelings.
When we hit the midway point, as per Soderbergh tradition, it’s off to the races (literally, in this case). Jimmy and his team move tobreak Joe out of jailfor the day, pull off the heist, return him to his cell, and finish on time so that Jimmy can attend his daughter’s beauty pageant.Logan Luckythus becomes a perfect blend of old-fashioned and comedic hijinks, hoping our heroes get away while laughing with (notat) them; we worry they may not completely have the smarts needed to pull off their plan.
Logan Lucky Is Expertly Made, Wonderfully Cast, and Riotously Funny
As evidenced by hisOcean’strilogy, we already know Steven Soderbergh can make a wildly entertaining heist movie with his eyes closed. Within minutes, he proves that he hasn’t shown a hint of rust from his brief retirement, asLogan Luckyis paced to near perfection. He hooks us immediately and spends the first half making us care about Jimmy and Clyde before hitting the pedal to the metal in the second half as the plan goes into action. On top of this,he always knows the exact moment to throw in an unexpected twist and shift to suspense when the heist seems to be falling apart.
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But it’s ultimatelyDaniel Craig who walks away the standoutwith his brilliantly against-type performance. In contrast to the internalized gravitas that defined virtually his entire career beforeLogan Lucky, Craig is a live wire as Joe Bang, sporting bleached hair, face tattoos, and an unhinged screen presence. It’s all too fitting for a character so manic and unpredictable, and it’s no wonder Craig was cast inKnives Outso soon after this released — almost no one would’ve expected this kind of high-caliber comedic work from him.
In a sense,the movie works as a fascinating companion piece to Soderbergh’sOcean’strilogy. Whereas those films were defined by style, with characters as smooth as they come and already clearly smarter than everybody in the room,Logan Lucky’s rewards are more understated. On the surface, a redneck caper seems like a gimmick, and we’d never expect Jimmy and Clyde Logan to have the brains to pull off their heist. But much of the fun of watching the film comes from our gradual realization that Jimmy is actually much smarter than anyone would’ve thought, as he executes a con with a complexity that would make Danny Ocean proud.
Logan Lucky Is One of Soderbergh’s Best
In a career as extensive and eclectic as Steven Soderbergh’s,Logan Luckyisnot only one of his most underratedbutarguably one of his best, period. While it may not have the thoughtfulness ofSex, Lies and Videotapeor the polish ofOut of Sight, it’s an effortlessly entertaining caper filled with laughs and unanimously great performances.It definitely deserved better than its disappointing box office in 2017, but as is the case with its main character, its true intelligence has become evident with time.Logan Luckyis streaming onNetflix.
