Logan Lucky

Steven Soderbergh, who had intended 2013’s Side Effects to be his final theatrical film, made a U-turn after reading the Logan Lucky script and picked it up. According to the director, it was an “anti-glam version of an Ocean’s movie”, one of which he was involved in producing at the time. “Rubber band technology”, he called it. He said that, unlike the Ocean’s flicks, the plot’s lack of money and technology was different enough to peak his interest.

Set in West Virginia/North Carolina, the film takes on a distinct country personality, with its deep southern brogues and soundtrack, the likes of which include John Denver, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Bo Diddley. Channing Tatum and Adam Driver, sporting convincing accents, star as brothers and war veterans. When Jimmy (Tatum) is let go from his job at the Charlotte Motor Speedway because of a limp, obtained when he lost a leg in service, he teams up with his brother, Clyde (Driver), who had also lost part of his arm, to steal from the Speedway during the Coca-Cola 600 Race. The pair recruit the bleach-blonde-haired demolition expert, Joe Bang (Daniel Craig), to break into the vault but there’s a small catch: they must first break him out of prison.

Legend has it that because of their injuries, the Logan family is cursed, and with this threat looming, the success of the heist hangs in the balance. Bang’s brothers – two classic redneck types – don’t help the odds. With their humorously slow ways, the audience is left wondering whether they really are as stupid as they seem.

Some elements of the movie are a little too astray to miss, however. Hillary Swank’s role as an FBI agent seems rushed and slapped in at the end, leaving next to no impression, and Seth MacFarlane’s English accent is imperfect to say the least. That being said Logan Lucky is a charmer of a film, doling out lashings of entertainment, humour and suspense to satisfy an audience.

Olivia Cal

Logan lucky is released nationwide on 25^th August 2017.

Watch the trailer for Logan Lucky here: