Did anyone believe for even a second that Steven Soderbergh had 'retired' for good? I certainly didn't. After a five year hiatus following Magic Mike (2012), one of the pioneers of modern heist movies makes a welcomed return to cinemas. Logan Lucky maybe feature a very familiar story that offers nothing groundbreaking to the genre, but some slick direction and class acting make it an immensely enjoyable movie.
Soderbergh again teams up with Channing Tatum, who is, as usual, on lovable beefcake duty. Jimmy Logan is a West Virginian miner with a heart of gold and a surprisingly spot on accent. After being knocked down for the umpteenth time, he seeks the assistance of his brother Clyde (Adam Driver) to rob his local NASCAR track on it's most profitable day of the year. Driver's turn as a one-armed, slow talking but quick witted barman is great. He and Tatum share some cracking chemistry and his performance would steal the show, if it wasn't for the presence of Daniel Craig. Bleach blonde hair and those piercing blue eyes mean that he's almost unrecognisable but it's very clear how much fun he's having whilst freed from the shackles of 007. It's a refreshing reminder of just how good a character actor Craig can be and he completely owns every scene he's in. In fact, the characters and their interactions are arguably the strongest element of this film. Without the burden of having to share screen time between an abundance of stars that plagues the Ocean's franchise, Soderbergh allows more than enough time for this movie to slow down and develop it's key players in meaningful and interesting ways.
The true core of a heist movie. though, has to be the planning and execution of the job. Both are handled well in this case. The writers are very careful to only offer snippets of information at a time, allowing for plenty of twists and turns throughout the robbery, all of which are tied up in simplistic yet satisfying fashion. The plan itself is simple enough that you can follow the process but also intriguing enough to maintain your attention.
Unfortunately, as with many of Soderbergh's movies, Lucky Logan lacks that final bit of pizzaz that would elevate it to greatness. Whilst the core trio all get ample time to shine, there are certain characters and plot threads that feel slightly underused, almost to the extent that you question their inclusion. Seth MacFarlane and Sebastian Stan's NASCAR team, whom you might expect to feature prominently, given that heist takes place within a race track, yet the two are reduced to glorified cameos. Similarly, Hilary Swank's late entering FBI agent feels tacked-on and offers very little to the story. After the big pay off of the heist and the plot reaching what feels like a heartfelt and satisfactory conclusion, the movie meanders on and actually robs the movie of the impactful ending that the build up deserved.
Even though it lacks that special something to make it excellent, there's still a lot to enjoy about Lucky Logan. Soderbergh yet again attracts a stellar cast that play off each other brilliantly and the overall balance of a character driven crime-flick is struck really well.
3/5 Stars
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