Logan Lucky
Jack Judges: A dude with high standards lets us know what he thinks of random things. This week it is the newly released film, Logan Lucky.
Logan Lucky is the latest film from Steven Soderbergh, the man behind the Oceans Trilogy and Erin Brockovich. This being my first Soderbergh film to see in the cinema, I didn’t have any expectations at all. The trailer did leave me feeling unenthusiastic - but due to the drought of enticing films in theatres right now, I decided to check it out.
The film is centred on the supposedly unlucky Logan brothers Jimmy (Channing Tatum) and Clyde (Adam Driver). After losing his job and needing to pay for a lawyer for the upcoming custody battle for his daughter, Jimmy hatches a scheme to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway during a low-risk NASCAR event. In typical heist movie fashion however, Jimmy and his brother are joined by a colourful cast of characters to aid them in their precise and elaborate scheme.
My real gripe with the film lies with Seth MacFalane and his awful attempt at what I Think was a British accent? Anyway there was no purpose to his character in the film and his performance made me wonder why he was even cast. Shame on the makeup department for that wig and moustache combination too…yikes! But then again I have never been fond of MacFarlane or his brand of comedy, so I suppose I am biased.
I walk away feeling unsure about how much I enjoyed Logan Lucky though. The heist portion of the film was exciting and felt like a breath of fresh air from what I’ve seen recently. The tension was palpable in some scenes and I really enjoyed the gummy-bear-bomb set-piece. However both the beginning and post-heist portions of the film felt sluggish at times and could have used some tightening in with the plot. The film certainly slowed to a crawl in the last 20/30 minutes though and we were even given a bored Hilary Swank doing her best Batman impression to get us through it!
Logan Lucky proves to be an enjoyable yet flawed southern-fried heist romp. The film is carried by its slick presentation and performances from Daniel Craig and Adam Driver, both of whom clearly had a good time with their respective roles. Channing Tatum does a fine job, although that shaky accent could have used some work. There is fun to be had here and it’s nice to go to the theatre again for something other than the latest Hollywood superhero blockbuster.
Jack Judges rating: ★★☆☆☆
Jack Wilton
29 August 2017
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