Day 62 - Logan Lucky



Day 62            Logan Lucky [2017]
                          
Screenplay                    Rebecca Blunt
Director                         Steven Soderbergh
Cinematography            Steven Soderbergh
Music                            David Holmes
Leads                            Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig, Riley Keogh, Katie Holmes, Seth MacFarlane, Sebastian Stan, Katherine Waterston, Hilary Swank
Production                      Trans-Radial Pictures, Free Association

IMDb                                7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes               92%

I was interested when I first saw the trailers for this one. Daniel Craig with peroxide blonde hair, in prison uniform, sleeve tattoos and a Southern (US) accent. That’s enough to make anyone want to watch it. It’s also the great Steven Soderbergh’s return to directing, coming out of retirement to direct his wife’s screenplay (it’s an open secret that Rebecca Blunt is a pseudonym for his wife Jules Asner). This was a refreshing film. A redneck Ocean’s 11. Jimmy (Tatum), an ex-coal miner with a knee problem, gets let go from his job fixing sinkholes at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina. Jimmy’s younger brother Clyde (Driver) is missing part of his left arm after serving in Iraq and now tends the bar at a roadside saloon. After an altercation with a NASCAR team owner and driver (MacFarlane) at the saloon, Jimmy reveals a plan to his brother to rob the Motor Speedway as during his job fixing sinkholes he learnt about the vault underneath the speedway and knows how to access it. They assemble a crew consisting of their sister Mellie (Keough) as the getaway driver, Joe Bang (Craig) as the demolitions expert and Bang’s brothers. They have to get Bang out of prison and back in without anyone noticing too. It’s a fun film to watch, with plenty of laughs and action, and Craig’s performance as Joe Bang is hilarious. I just felt there was something missing from this film. I wanted to get to know certain characters more and other characters less. Hilary Swank’s role as an FBI agent trying to work out who committed the robbery is unnecessary, or at least far too short. I also feel they should have picked someone British to play MacFarlane’s role as his character was annoying and didn’t need as much screen time as he was given. The Logans and the Bangs were the real stars and I would have liked more of them and their shenanigans. The heist itself I thought was too quick too. Overall though it’s definitely worth watching.

Acting                            3 / 4
Writing                           3 / 4
Cinematography             3 / 4
Music                             3 / 4
HMD rating               3 / 4