Logan Lucky
Logan Lucky
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Starring Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig, Katie Holmes, Riley Keough, Hilary Swank, Macon Blair, Katherine Waterston, Brian Gleeson, Sebastian Stan and Seth MacFarlane
In UK Cinemas August 25th, 2017
Watch on iTunes or [amazon_link asins=’B074XGJYRJ’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’loolip-21′ text=’Amazon’ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’3bd6bf48-ebca-11e7-9d88-895303ee13d8′]
by Joanna Orland
Director Steven Soderbergh brings his work back to the big screen with hillbilly heist movie Logan Lucky. Easily labelled as a redneck Ocean’s Eleven (the film even goes as far as to include a joke about it), Logan Lucky lacks the punch that the Ocean‘s films once had, relying more on characters and actual performances rather than slick and flashy Hollywood actors, and a glitzy Las Vegas casino setting.
There is too much fat and not enough meat in Logan Lucky. The film is a sprawling mess with some good moments and a fun heist. Clocking in at about two hours, there is so much that could have been trimmed from this film – character backstories, slow and convoluted moments, and it could have been edited much tighter to pick up the pace. It also could’ve ended about 45 minutes earlier than it did. I truly thought the film was finished and then Hilary Swank and Macon Blair showed up – and with such high profile casting, I knew it wasn’t going to be merely a brief cameo… there was actually more story, a highly unnnecessary finale at that.
What Logan Lucky does boast is a couple of excellent performances, amongst the contrived and out of place ones. Adam Driver can do no wrong – his performance is heartfelt and funny – he is the most watchable actor in modern cinema. Daniel Craig gives a career best performance, really giving it his all as a zany criminal named Joe Bang.
But then there’s everyone else….
I could almost visibly see Channing Tatum “acting” while Hilary Swank’s performance felt like it was all done in ADR. Seth MacFarlane was the worst by far – I think someone told him this was Anchorman 3 rather than a more grounded heist comedy-drama that never quite hits either mark.
Again, there are some really fun moments in this film, and some of the performances and characters are an absolute delight. A tighter script and edit would have done this film wonders. There is fun to be had, but it’s not the focus of Logan Lucky.
