Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh has returned from his short, four-year "retirement" to make a Southern-fried, red-state version of his Ocean's Eleven heist comedies (dubbed "Ocean's 7-Eleven" within the film). Set in West Virginia and North Carolina, Logan Lucky is basically a joyous parody of those films, starring seemingly trashier versions of those characters, with an equally talented cast, revolving around a half-baked plot to rob a NASCAR race venue. The film is a fun, stylish ride and a piece of summer entertainment.
Channing Tatum (also a producer) stars as the titular "unlucky" Jimmy Logan. Desperate to overcome his economic lot, he comes up with a clever scheme to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway with his one-handed bartender brother Clyde (Adam Driver). His lot in life is full of the same underlying American economic turmoil, also predominantly seen in the other Tatum/Soderbergh collaboration, the first Magic Mike. Tatum and Driver play convincing Southern brothers with thick accents and funny ticks while extolling their family curse and sense of history.
Daniel Craig clearly had a blast making this film in his first full-on comedic role, playing the imprisoned explosives expert, properly named Joe Bang. It's a big, boldly energetic performance free of the suffering of his usual dramatic characters. Riley Keough continues to prove her versatility as the Logan brothers' sister, Mellie. She's among the film's highlight performances and secret weapon as easily the most competent crew member.
Like the Ocean's films, the story focuses firmly on its cast of likeable characters and Soderbergh's refreshing take on hard, analogue technology, dismissing ubiquitous contemporary devices. He quickly establishes these heightened yet clearly real-world characters, mines them for laughs, and executes a different kind of heist, understatedly but stylishly. It's a dirtier, grungier environment, using identifiable environments to reveal the reality of its characters.
Written by first-time screenwriter Rebecca Blunt (who may or may not exist and is likely to be Jules Asner, Soderbergh's wife), the film's script is full of Southern know-how and comedy authenticity. Supposedly from the area herself and familiar with that world's lore, the film never laughs at its characters for their ignorance but acknowledges their lives and history to exploit it for high comedy.
A trio of strong women, played by Katie Holmes, Katherine Waterston, and Hilary Swank, all show up to challenge the brothers as Jimmy's ex-wife, his love interest, and a hard-boiled FBI agent in different ways. With limited screen time, they all manage to establish their own firm roles without being simply stereotyped "bitches" in this grungy world. In a lesser film, these female characters would be combined into a thankless composite girlfriend/wife character used only to justify the male characters' actions.
Finally, a nearly unrecognizable Seth MacFarlane sports a hideous wig and a bad English accent to show up as a completely obnoxious social media celebrity, an energy magnate and a race car sponsor. His performance works too well at establishing a sort of enemy and foil/villain, where the cast of "good guys" largely acts unopposed.
Logan Lucky shows Soderbergh's complete efficiency in constructing and deconstructing his own filmography. His talent for assembling actors and framing them splendidly further proves his mastery of the basic cinematic form. It's a fine piece of Southern comic entertainment full of fun performances and snappy filmmaking.
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