First Take: Logan Lucky- the mechanic, the bartender and the thief

SYNOPSIS:

Two brothers attempt to pull off a heist during a NASCAR race in North Carolina

And so Steven Soderbergh returns from his brief retirement from filmmaking. One of Hollywood’s more unique directors, he knows how to make a good film- and he’s nailed it once again with Logan Lucky, a heist film that’s quite unlike his Oceans Trilogy of films.

Soderbergh has absolutely nothing to fault with his direction, with a sharp sense of pacing as ever, and paired with a script from an relatively unknown first time screenwriter Rebecca Blunt (who I think is another pseudonym for Soderbergh himself), the film has a very classy feel for the genre it is trying to go for. It’s shot really well by Peter Andrews (spoiler alert- that’s one of Soderbergh’s fake names), and with frequent collaborator David Holmes providing the score, the film has some great technical prowess.

Now, the performances. I don’t even know where to begin here. Channing Tatum and Adam Driver are two very likable leads, putting in some great work as per usual, and the supporting cast including Riley Keough, Katie Holmes, Sebastian Stan and Seth MacFarlane are good, but Daniel Craig though. Bond himself, in a role unlike anything he’s done before- if you’ve seen any of the trailers, you will know how different he is in this, and his work alone is worth the price of admission.

THE VERDICT

Brilliantly original, super unique and downright insane, Logan Lucky takes everything about the heist film and twists the conventions with ease. It’s not quite perfect, but it is a big contender for Film of the Year.

RATING: 4/5