Steven Soderbergh returned after a four-year retirement to direct Logan Lucky. The film is about Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum) who gets fired from his job and is desperate for money, and must get help from his brother Clyde (Adam Driver) to pull off a heist at a NASCAR race. It also stars Riley Keough, Katie Holmes, Katherine Waterston, Hilary Swank and Seth Macfarlane.

  Daniel Craig and Adam Driver have the best performances in the movie. Daniel Craig’s accent is perfect, and it adds to how funny of a character he is. Adam Driver is a former Iraq War veteran who lost his hand and forearm in service (he makes it clear throughout that it’s just that and not his whole arm). Driver gives an awkward performance that made his character likeable and funny as well. Channing Tatum is fine but not amazing, and has been better in films like 21 Jump Street. The supporting cast was unmemorable.  

My favorite thing about the movie is Steven Soderbergh’s use of the camera. Soderbergh directs the film by keeping the camera moving for most of the movie, which makes it great to look at and fun to watch. For example, when Daniel Craig is in the prison, there is a very long shot and every time Daniel Craig leans away from the camera, he goes out of focus. When he leans forward, he comes back into focus. That is just one of the many artful techniques Soderbergh employs in this film. The movie is alternates between long shots and quick cuts, which makes it visually stimulating from start to finish.  

Although I enjoyed the movie, it was far from perfect. This action heist movie is funny, but a lot of the jokes are not, and the film goes a long time without any laughs. Since the film takes place in West Virginia and North Carolina, the characters have thick southern accents and the actors mumble their lines. Some characters were added just to increase star power in the credits. For example, Katherine Waterston’s and Hilary Swank’s character added nothing to the story. But the most frustrating thing in the movie was the ending, that dragged on for about 15 to 20 minutes. Two or three times I felt the film should have ended, but did not, even though everything had already wrapped up.

I would recommend this movie because it’s entertaining and funny. At the very least, you will walk away from a great looking movie with thoughtful direction.

Grade: B