Logan Lucky--Film Review--Ocean's 11 with lovable misfits

Logan Lucky film review 

Logan Lucky is the newest heist movie from Ocean’s 11 director Steven Soderbergh, written by Rebecca Blunt.  Like his other heist movies, this one is filled with colorful characters and quirky dialog.  Just maybe not as gripping as the first Oceans movie or Out of Sight with George Clooney.

Channing Tatum plays the lead, Jimmy Logan, a divorced father who works in the West Virginia mines, who loses his job due to an injury.  His wife Bobbi Jo Chapman, played by Katie Holmes, is the ex-wife married to the rich moron who sells cars but can’t drive a stick shift, Moody Chapman.  Adam Driver plays his brother Clyde Lohan, and Daniel Craig plays the apply named Joe Bang.  His sister Mellie Logan is played by Riley Keough.

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Lovable Misfits

The movie attempts to take lovable misfits and have them pull off a well executed theft.  And as we get to know them they are lovable.  And let’s be even more clear, this movie is owned by Adam Driver.  Driver plays Clyde Logan who lost part of his left arm in the Iraq War, now wears a prosthetic arm and hand. Clyde lives his life based on the “Logan Family Curse.”  Everyone with the last name of Logan is cursed.  Jimmy was on his way to being a professional football player until he blew out his kee, Clyde loses his arm, excuse me part of his arm, and not in combat, but on the way home.  Their aunt Millie won the lottery but lost the winning ticket, there uncle Stickly was electrocuted, and it all goes back to their grandfather Logan Logan, yes that was his name.  In the middle of a lunch time game of horseshoes Logan found what he thought was a slab of quartz, so he threw it back.  A coworker found it and brought it home, only to find out years later that was a 35 carat diamond.  The largest ever found in the United States.  Thus began the famous Logan curse.  This motivates everything the Logans do—especially Clyde.

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The Heist

To get money for his family, Jimmy enlists his brother to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway.  Because of the job Jimmy was fired from he knows how the money is transferred throughout the speedway during big event.

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In order to do this they need to draft the help of convicted criminal/current inmate Joe Bang.  During their meeting Joe reminds them, that he is in prison and is very close to getting out.  Luckily Jimmy and Cylde have a plan to get him out, and back in without it being noticed that he ever left.  Joe insists on using his dimwitted younger brother Fish and Sam, played by Jack Quaid and Brian Gleeson.  Unfortunately the two brothers have gone straight because of “the Lord.”

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I won’t give anymore away of the plot, the set-up is multi-layered and tight.  The characters are fun to watch, and you cheer them on as they try to get their way out.  This heist movie is missing the cool suave characters that the Oceans movie had.  This heist enjoyable to watch because you know the characters are in over their heads, so how exactly are they going to pull it off?

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Recommendation

I recommend catching this at a matinee or at a second run theater, or definitely catch it on disc when it hits on Netflix.  

A nice video on the history of the Logan Curse