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ATYPICAL ANALYSIS: Logan Lucky (Review)

I’ve been a film fanatic as long as I can remember. Films have molded my personality, created sparks in my imagination and have given me a career path to follow. ‘Review’ can be a dirty word nowadays, as a lot of our personal opinions don’t necessarily align with those of most critics. But, that’s why I love films. They divide us by also bringing us together in the most magical of ways. So, instead of giving you a review, I’m going to give you an analysis of what aspects are strong in the specific film, and what are weak. This is my Atypical Analysis.

The following review was written by my amazing intern, Jonnie Clark. You’ll find my review of Brigsby Bear up tomorrow!

Logan Lucky (Dir. Steven Soderbergh)

In “Logan Lucky”, two southern ungifted brothers lead a bank robbery with odds constantly stacked against them. Their robbery goes through several stages and complications, on and off screen. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, this film has no shortage of great moments that immerse the viewer in the story just as the Oceans Films.

Expectations: I went into the film loving many of the directors previous films. I have seen many of the cast in previous movies but never in this type of situation, therefore I didn’t know what to expect from the talent. I went into the movie with high expectations for the director without knowing how the actors would behave in their specific situation.

Writing: In most crime/ drama films, the script plays a huge roll in keeping the story on track. This film was written by Rebecca Blunt, who has no known credits. That being said, this film knocked it out of the park with the dialogue. With most crime films there’s expositional sections where the audience is told whats happening on screen almost redundantly. However, there were a handful of times that the movie had me falling out of my seat laughing. The writing involved a couple of references to current pop culture in such a clean and proper way. The humor in the writing was by far the strongest aspect of the script. 

Acting:  The cast was full of people I would not have expected to be together on screen. From the current James Bond (Daniel Craig) to Channing Tatum to the Lightsaber wheedling Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), the casts history was stacked with different genres. I was shocked to see Daniel Craig’s southern accent performed flawlessly along with the rest of the cast. Alongside the main actors, all of the performances were believable from start to finish.

Sound/Score: One of the best things about this film were the sodalities in the score. Nothing stood out as being forced with everything from loud sound effects to the dialog coming across seamlessly.

Visuals: This movie excelled at explaining the plot visually. In most of the scenes the frame gives just the right amount of information for the viewer. In a crime/ drama genre there isn’t a whole lot of room for experimental shots. However this film excelled in interesting framing while staying clean.

Directing: The Director of Logan Lucky (Steven Soderbergh) crushed it in various other features such as Oceans 11, Oceans 12, Oceans 13, Traffic, and has been apart of numerous other productions in many different positions. At times I felt like I was watching a modern day Oceans film with added humor. It was no surprise for me to see Steven knock this out of the park considering all of the great films he has under his belt.

Wrap Up: I went into this hoping to have a great feel good experience and I was not let down. This movie verbally, visually, and creatively kept me interested from the first scene to the last. I was constantly surprised by plot elements and characters performances that kept expanding as the time progressed. With the directors clear vision and the dialogue between characters, this film kept me smiling days after viewing it.

Logan Lucky releases August 17th, 2017. Get your tickets today!