I don’t know which is higher, the amount of times I probably said this movie's name wrong (which at this moment I am still trying to remember if I am saying it right) or how much I have gone back and forth on whether I like this movie. Don’t get me wrong, it’s definitely a good movie (92 or 95% fresh on rotten tomatoes right now, can’t remember exactly and too lazy to look it up). Yet, by the end of it I was left saying “Hmmm, I guess I liked it... maybe... I should like it right????”. Considering I was watching it in the theater by myself I didn’t get a response.
Logan Lucky is about two brothers who decide to get a team together to try to steal from one of the biggest NASCAR venues in the country, Charlotte Motor Speedway. Channing Tatum plays Jimmy Logan, a down-on-his-luck former high school football star from West Virginia who feels he needs to break a so-called family curse (albeit one he doesn’t believe in) after being unceremoniously fired from his mining job. He brings in his war-veteran, amputee brother Clyde (Adam Driver), and local explosives expert/prison inmate Joe Bang (Daniel Craig) to help carry out the job. Along with a ragtag group of co-conspirators, the team comes up with a plan to use Jimmy’s former job site to break into the track’s underground system during the biggest event of the year (*end cliché movie summary*).
If that sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because the movie is directed by the same guy who made Ocean’s Eleven, Steven Soderbergh.
Maybe since the Ocean’s Trilogy is one of my favorite franchises of all time (YES I LIKED 12 SO YALL CAN SHUT THE HELL UP WITH YOUR QUESTIONS), I probably was going into it with higher expectations than I should have. I probably should have let it stand on its own and not compared every scene, music choice, and character to Danny & Rusty’s capers. I probably should stop saying probably and maybe so many times while writing this thing. Whatever. I couldn’t help with the comparison though. It’s a Soderbergh directed heist movie with eccentric characters, iconic locations, and a catchy score. It might as well have been Ocean’s 14; just take out the fast-paced Las Vegas Strip dialogue and insert Magic Mike, James Bond, and Kylo Ren with drawling country accents (1: if you don’t recognize my references, well, I’m sorry but you’re gonna need to do a lot of research in my reviews. 2: add these parenthetical side comments to the list of things killing my writing…maybe, probably). Luckily there was enough unique qualities to this movie that it didn’t feel like a country remake of Ocean’s. However, there wasn’t enough to stop me from thinking it didn’t live up to what I expected.
Anyway, there was plenty that I did like about the movie. I was laughing and smiling from beginning to end. It also had the Ocean’s tropes I’d hope would be there (yes I know those heist tropes didn’t originate with Ocean’s, but I’m only 28 so I can’t reference an older movie). Above all, the main characters were charming and likeable. Tatum (see: Magic Mike) made me care about the reasons behind the heist and Daniel Craig (see: James Bond) looked like he had the most fun he has had in his entire career. Yet, it was Driver (see: Kylo Ren) who captured my attention. His part could have easily been dumbed down to the weird, dimwitted younger brother who the movie wants the audience to pity. Instead, Driver brings an intelligence to Clyde’s peculiar disposition, making the audience believe that he is in fact the most insightful character in the entire movie. Driver, Soderbergh, and writer Rebecca Blunt brilliantly make this apparent in Clyde’s introductory scene. From his explanation of his missing hand (not arm, key distinction) to his calm demeanor when Jimmy meets a conflict fists first, Clyde quickly becomes an audience favorite.
However, even with Driver's great run, it was the youngest star who stole the show. Jimmy’s daughter Sadie, played by Farrah Mackenzie, is the cutest, most articulate, clever, and down-right badass little girl I’ve seen on screen in a while. If anyone left the theater not thinking they wanted her to be their daughter, then those people have no soul. She made the movie more than just a heist film. She was the thread that connected the entire cast and made Logan Lucky, at its core, a movie about taking care of and being there for family and loved ones.
The main cast, including Jimmy and Clyde's sister Mellie (Riley Keough) and two other Bang brothers (Jack Quaid and Brian Gleeson), gave Logan Lucky a sense that the job was more than just a quick score. There’s genuine purpose behind the fun and quirky mischief that ensues in the suburbs of Charlotte. Yet somehow through all the mischief and fun, NOTHING ACTUALLY HAPPENS!!!!!!!!! I don’t know how a movie can be lively and unsuspenseful (yes, not a word) at the SAME DAMN TIME *cue the Future song*. With about 20 minutes left in the movie, I was wondering if that was it. Was there a conflict? Was the tension coming? Did I miss it? By the time I realized there was only about 20 seconds left, I understood that I couldn’t miss what wasn’t really there. I was utterly confused. I couldn't help my face from making this face.
While the main cast was very endearing, I was also left wondering why some other characters were even in the movie. There were smaller characters who seemed to have no other reason for doing what they did besides give the heist forward momentum (let’s call them White Prison Riot Organizer and Black Prison Riot Organizer). There was the obligatory love interest for Tatum that was given too little screen time. I’m still trying to figure out why Stewie Griffin and the Winter Soldier (see my previous research comment) were in the movie. Then, there was Hilary Swank with her best Christian Bale Batman impression. She came, she scowled, she sounded like she was auditioning for the Dark Knight Rises Part Deux, and she set up what probab…DAMMIT! Sorry..... nevermind. I’m done with this review.
All in all, I think I’m going to decide that I did like this movie and I would recommend others go see it as well. I had fun watching it even though I was left underwhelmed. I give Logan Lucky 3.5/5 stars (someone give me a better rating system and I promise I’ll shout you out when I become famous). I also promise to clean up my writing next time. Probably. Maybe....