“I am In-car-ce-re-ted”
Release Date: August 18th, 2017
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
MPAA: PG
I saw this trailer a little while ago and I didn’t really know what to expect, but then I saw the name of the director and I knew I had to add it to my watch list: Steven Soderbergh. I love most if not all of his filmography, I especially love Traffic (2000) and The Oceans 11 Trilogy (2001, 2004, 2007). I knew any heist movie with the name Soderbergh behind it is going to be something to watch.
Logan Lucky is a comedy, crime film about two brothers who attempt to pull off a heist during a NASCAR race in North Carolina.
Logan Lucky as I previously stated is directed by Steven Soderbergh. His filmography consists of Traffic (2000), Ocean’s Eleven (2001), Ocean’s Twelve (2004), Ocean’s Thirteen (2007), Contagion (2011), Haywire (2011), and Magic Mike (2012). Soderbergh is excellent when you put him in charge of a heist film. He knows exactly where to be, how to play the camera, how to use the different angles, how to build up tension but also get the most out of his cast to make you completely entertained and laugh throughout the film. Thats what I love about his films, its not just a heist movie, its not just a comedy, its a beautiful mix of both, and Logan Lucky exceeds this standard. I feel like you know the Soderbergh flare when he directs, as its a great blend of the different genres, but theres a lot of heart in it.
Logan Lucky is written by a first time writer named Rebecca Blunt. As of when I looked her up on IMDb, theres a little biography that states: “As of July 2017, suspected to be a fictitious person; a pseudonym for an, as yet, unidentified person. The real person exchanged emails with Channing Tatum, Adam Driver and Daniel Craig (Cast members of Logan Lucky [2017]) during filming. They believed she resided in the UK.” http://www.imdb.com/name/nm8362793/?ref_=tt_ov_wr . Thats actually really neat, and not knowing who she really is, makes the mystery that much more interesting. This is a great script, filled with great comedic elements. I was really impressed to learn that this could be her first script, as it feels like it was written by someone who has been writing for years. Excellent, excellent script.
The film stars Channing Tatum as Jimmy Logan, Adam Driver as Clyde Logan, Daniel Craig as Joe Bang, Riley Keough as Mellie Logan and Farrah McKenzie as Sadie Logan.
Channing Tatum’s filmography consists of Coach Carter (2005), Public Enemies (2009), Haywire (2011), 21 Jump Street (2012), The Vow (2012), Magic Mike (2012), This Is The End (2013), Don Jon (2013), 22 Jump Street (2014), The Lego Movie (2014), The Hateful Eight (2015), and Hail, Caesar! (2016). I thought he did a very good job in the role of Jimmy, I thought he was hilarious and had great comedic timing. I’m actually a pretty big fan of Tatum, there hasn’t been a role I’ve seen him play where I didn’t like it (yet). I thought his chemistry with Adam Driver was also excellent.
Adam Driver’s filmography consists of Lincoln (2012), Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). Adam Driver is definitely a talented actor, theres a couple more of his films that I would really like to watch, like Paterson (2016), but I haven’t been able to locate a cheap blu ray copy yet. I really like his choice of roles though; Its nice to see a lot of diversity in these roles as well. I thought this was his best movie though so far that I have seen of his. I thought he was really fun and funny; he played the role very well and as I said about Channing Tatum, his chemistry with him was just great.
Daniel Craig’s filmography consists of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Road To Perdition (2002), Layer Cake (2004), Munich (2005), Casino Royale (2006), Defiance (2008), Goldeneye 007 {Video Game} (2010), Cowboys & Aliens (2011), The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo {Remake} (2011), Skyfall (2012), and Spectre (2015). This is without a doubt my favourite role that Daniel Craig has done so far, and thats saying a lot. I love his take on Bond, despite Spectre (2015) being a merely okay movie and you can tell he is getting tired of the role, but we’re getting more Craig Bond sooner than later. But it was genuinely fantastic to see him play such a different and fun role than what I’m used to seeing him play. He has great comedic timing and there were times I actually forgot it was him.
Riley Keough’s filmography consists of Magic Mike (2012), and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). I honestly don’t remember Keough in Magic Mike, but I remember her in Mad Max: Fury Road and if you know me or you’ve read my review… you know how I feel about Mad Max: Fury Road (AKA The Best Film of 2015). I thought Keough was lovely in this movie, she was a lot of fun, she had great chemistry with Tatum and Driver. I felt like they were actually a real family.
Farrah Mackenzie’s filmography consists of nothing I’ve seen before. I listed her though because I thought she was cute and great in this movie and deserved recognition.
I really loved the acting in this movie, there were parts where I forgot I was actually watching a movie. But boy, did these actors make this movie a lot of fun.
I have to say too, the use of John Denver’s Take Me Home Country Road was a great little addition to this movie, and unfortunately now I’ll have it stuck in my head for a week… I even have it on when I’m writing this review.
Logan Lucky was a very fun, well constructed comedic heist movie that I cannot recommend enough, its now one of my favourite films of 2017. I give Logan Lucky a 5/5, I will be adding this movie to my blu ray collection whenever it gets released.
Until Next Time!
-Andrew