For a filmmaker who rather recently announced retirement from feature filmmaking following Side Effects (2013), this is a welcome comeback in his typically atypical style.
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This is a Steven Soderbergh Film. He was behind Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve, Ocean’s Thirteen and now Ocean’s Zero - also known as Logan Lucky.
Referring to the unlucky Logan brothers (Channing Tatum & Adam Driver), Logan Lucky is a comedic crime caper that’s set in the South Atlantic state of North Carolina. What does that mean for the viewer? Expect accents. As trite as it may seem, getting your mind wrapped around the established movie personas of James Bond (Daniel Craig), Magic Mike (Tatum) and Kylo Ren (Driver) as drawling smalltime Southern criminals will be the first challenge to overcome. It gets easier, however.
Without getting top heavy on spoilers, the story is simple enough to follow along. We’re thrust into the machinations of a lo-fi heist that involves bravado and opportunism, but no fancy blueprints and Asian contortionists. Not even a stick of dynamite. Surprisingly, this isn’t as unappealing as it sounds. With a fair rate of smart gags and quirky humour, we chug along rooting for these unconventional protagonists. The inclusion of Katie Holmes, Seth MacFarlane and a surprisingly low-key two-time Academy Award winner’s appearance late in lend credence to the proceedings.
While I think it could have been a very different film if the latter played a more cohesive role in the stop-start plot, kudos to Steven Soderbergh for characteristically having helmed the direction, cinematography and editing this film. While not immediately apparent, Soderbergh has employed pseudonyms (as he has in the past) to throw off curious eyes. Rumour mills have churned out the possibility that he may have even written the story as one Jessica Blunt.
For a filmmaker who rather recently announced retirement from feature filmmaking following Side Effects (2013), this is a welcome comeback in his typically atypical style.
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