Logan Lucky

Fired from his construction job at the Nascar circuit for concealing a pre-existing health condition, Channing Tatum’s Jimmy Logan limps back to the bar where Clyde (his one-armed brother played by Adam Driver) works. Life has not been kind to the Logans and with Jimmy’s ex-wife signalling her intent to move out of the state with their daughter, things need to change, so Jimmy has a plan…

In the safe hands of (Ocean’s Eleven amongst others) director Steven Soderberg, ‘Logan Lucky’ feels like a smooth ride, replete with comedic turns, decent dramatic bumps in the road and with a plan so good it can’t fail – can it?

…Daniel Craig’s Joe Bang is an unashamed riot from start to finish.

Whilst Seth McFarlane’s english-accented drinks impresario might feel like a leap too far for his many talents, Daniel Craig’s Joe Bang is an unashamed riot from start to finish. Loopy, high pitched and highly intelligent to boot, Craig is clearly having a ball with this character and gets to flex his equally comedic muscles to great effect here. Add in the highly affectionate and believable brotherly portrait of Tatum and Rider as the eponymous Logan brothers and you have a solid line-up of performances to make ‘Logan Lucky’ not only fly but stand-out from being just another domestically-targeted red-necks-come-good movie.

With a nicely convoluted plot to frame the central caper round, ‘Logan Lucky’s’ third act is neither predictable nor ponderous. With an ending that satisfies all its character arcs whilst leaving the merest hint of a sequel, ‘Logan Lucky’ scores a direct hit upon the en-vogue bad guys of America’s health insurance firms who hold its poor to ransom. Imagine a version of the recent ‘Hell and High Water’ with its tongue placed firmly in its cheek and this where ‘Logan Lucky’ lands.

Whilst it might not rank with Soderbergh’s very best (and that is a hard prospect given his many fine movies), ‘Logan Lucky’ is a welcome return from a director who knows how to craft an entertaining two hours and makes it feel like an exciting ninety minutes. With its well-drawn characters and decent initial setup, ‘Logan Lucky’ has a lot going for it and is worth seeing compared to some of the summer’s more heavily marketed movies.

To paraphrase Daniel Craig’s Joe Bang, “Don’t go peeking now” (at the trailer) “because I’m about to git naked” (and this is one movie worth seeing cold).