Logan Lucky

In 2013, hyper-prolific writer/director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Oceans Eleven) announced his plans to retire from feature filmmaking, citing his dissatisfaction with the film industry and Hollywood studio machine as the reason for his untimely exit. During his ‘retirement’ (which was quickly downgraded to ‘sabbatical’) Soderbergh directed every episode of turn-of-the-century medical drama The Knick before its cancellation earlier this year, acted as cinematographer on Magic Mike XXL and produced the acclaimed documentary Citizenfour. Clearly some creative itches are too deep not to scratch, as Soderbergh has now returned to the big screen with Logan Lucky, a spiritual sequel to his 2001 mainstream breakout Ocean’s Eleven and a welcome break from the summer’s high-octane action franchise films.

When divorced father Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum) is laid off from his construction job at the the Charlotte Motor Speedway, he plans to rob the track during the busy Memorial Day Coca-Cola 600 race, roping in his sister, Mellie (Riley Keough), and disabled brother, Clyde (Adam Driver). They also enlist the help of incarcerated explosives expert Joe Bang, played brilliantly by Daniel Craig who, with his thick Southern accent and bleach blonde hair, is barely recognisable as the man who has played 007 for the last decade. In typical Soderbergh fashion, Logan Lucky features a number of big-name actors appearing only in bit-parts; these include Sebastian Stan as health obsessed NASCAR driver Dayton White, Seth Macfarlane as his fame-obsessed sponsor and Hilary Swank as an FBI agent determined to catch the Redneck Robbers.

While the plot may seem familiar to other films in the heist genre, and even other films directed by Steven Soderbergh himself, Logan Lucky is injected with just enough quirky arthouse flair that it still manages to feel unique. Soderbergh uses the first half of the film to explore the characters’ relationships — Jimmy’s with his daughter, wife (played by Katie Holmes) and wife’s new husband, the close bond he has with his siblings, and Clyde’s obsession with the ‘Logan family curse’ — allowing for more rewarding payoffs (literally) in the final act. Without this deep character exploration, the reasons behind the heist would seem thin and the eventual conclusion may seem random and unexplained. The screenplay for Logan Lucky was written by first time writer Rebecca Blunt, although some (myself included) believe that this is a pseudonym for another, more experienced writer. Perhaps Soderbergh himself, who acted as cinematographer on Logan Lucky under the name Peter Andrews and editor with the name Mary Ann Bernard, was behind the airtight screenplay.

Truthfully, a cinematic presence such as Steven Soderbergh’s has been missed in the larger Hollywood landscape since his sabbatical in 2013. Not only is Logan Lucky a palette cleanser from the year’s high octane, CGI-driven action/adventure blockbusters, as an indie film crafted by a notorious auteur, it is refreshingly modern. While Soderbergh’s contemporaries Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson look into the past for inspiration for their films (neither director has produced a film set in the modern day since the 1990s), Logan Lucky is firmly rooted in 2017, pop culture references and all. The screenwriter, whoever they may be, uses the modern-day backdrop to poke fun at 21st century grievances; Tatum’s character does not use a mobile phone, prison inmates are angry at missing out on Game of Thrones, and children are painfully aware of how unsubtly sexual modern pop songs are. By presenting Jimmy Logan as a man out of time, Soderbergh uses Logan Lucky as a critique of our technology-reliant culture.

Looking past the fairly unoriginal plot and somewhat contrived ending ‘how they did it’ montage, Logan Lucky is an effective heist film with heart to spare. Cleverly crafted by a director who knows exactly what they are doing, Soderbergh injects enough of his own style into the film so that it never feels trite or repetitive. Bolstered by solid performances across the board as well as complex and well-realised characters, Logan Lucky is certainly worthy of Steven Soderbergh’s already impressive filmography. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait other four years for his next outing as a director.

8/10