Saturday, September 30, 2017

Logan Lucky

Direction: Steven Soderbergh; Cast: Channing Tatum, Daniel Craig, Adam Driver, Seth MacFarlene, Riley Keough, Katie Holmes;  Screenplay: Rebecca Blunt; Editing: Mary Ann Bernard; Cinematography: Peter Andrews; Producer: Gregory Jacobs, Mark Johnson, Channing Tatum Music: David HolmesrGenre: Action-Comedy; Distributor: Fingerprint Releasing; Location: USA  Running Time: 119 minutes; 
Technical assessment: 3.5  
Moral assessment: 2 
CINEMA rating: V16 
Logan brothers are unlucky. Clyde loses his arm in Iraq and is now a bartender while Jimmy (Channing Tatum) is fired and is about to lose his time with his daughter. Jimmy convinces Clyde to rob Speedway’s biggest race of the year to rewrite their family history. They enlist the help of a local prison inmate and bomb expert Joe Bang (Daniel Craig) and stage and prison break to free him. They are joined by Joe’s siblings and prepare to put the plan into action. However, the construction work finishes ahead of schedule and forces them to hold the heist earlier on a busier Coca-cola 600 race on a Memorial weekend celebration. Despite several near misses, the heist is successfully carried out but Jimmy leaves part of the money behind and alerts the police so they can retrieve it. After six months, the investigation is closed, Joe is released from prison and finds part of the money purposely sent to him and Jimmy moves in to a new home to be near his daughter. Unknown to them FBI agent Sarah Grayson (Hilary Swank), continued her investigation undercover. 
Soderberg’s direction never fails to bring home the bacon. He cleverly delivers sophisticated hilarity at a pitch perfect timing. There isn’t much uniqueness in the storyline but the storytelling is crisp and distinct. It is an easy read without being too predictable. The movie’s hidden gem is Craig and his totally convincing portrayal of comical bad guy. Chemistry of the main actors are also commendable. However, the cleverness of the narrative was not sustained till the end as the intensity of the pace did not allow for whatever surprise twists needed to be brewed to achieve a more powerful ending. But the movie is undeniably enjoyable and worth one’s time. 
The value of family loyalty is emphasized in the film. It demonstrates that they are the people one can rely come good or bad times, they are the reason why we are willing to go through hell and high water, and they are the rainbow hope after a cruel storm. Cliché as all these may sound, they are true and real for most people. The question is—another cliché—does the end justify the means? The movie, no matter how noble its intentions and objective, used robbery (and a successful one).  It becomes more dangerous as the characters are lovable and sympathy for them is easily won. It is a bit disturbing because, not only did they not get caught, but also they were rewarded for being successful thieves—now what does it connote when put beside the issue of corruption? There are too many disvalues intertwined in the plot that it makes it unsuitable for young audiences.