I could swear that a few years ago Steven Soderbergh retired from the movies but here he is making them again. LOGAN LUCKY is a light-hearted crime comedy in much the same vein as OCEAN'S ELEVEN, although lacking that film's likeable, ensemble cast. Here we have a couple of lunk-headed brothers in the form of a limited Channing Tatum and an overrated Adam Driver who decide to carry out a heist during a Nascar race. Aiding them is an almost unrecognisable Daniel Craig as a quirky convict who has to be broken out of prison to help with the safecracking. Craig seems to be having more fun than he does in his Bond performances. The film is light on sense and heavy on humour, but I'm afraid I didn't find it very funny at all; Seth MacFarlane, for instance, is entirely unbelievable and annoying as the British racing driver.

Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum) is a former football star with a bum leg. He loses his construction job at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. His wealthy ex-wife threatens to move out of state taking their daughter with her. With his sister Mellie (Riley Keough) and one-handed Iraq-vet brother Clyde (Adam Driver),he devises a plan to rob the Speedway during a hectic race. They recruit explosive expert Joe Bang (Daniel Craig) despite him being locked up in prison. There are also Joe's idiot hillbilly tech brothers Sam and Fish.

This is a fun little caper. Director Steven Soderbergh delivers every bit of white trash joy. The problem for me is that I don't believe in these characters. I don't know if anybody is from the south but certainly, 007 is no southerner. It's a wacky time in the vain of his Ocean movies. I kept seeing a platinum blonde James Bond which pulled me out of the movie. I wonder if Soderbergh didn't have to force his southern origins. I like the caper until the twist on the caper. Those surprise twist often comes in these movies but this one has a lot of conveniences. Overall, there are loads of light fun if one is willing.

"Logan Lucky" is a new American film from 2017 and the most recent work by director Steven Soderbergh and with works like this we can be glad he did not actually retire as he intended a while ago. The screenplay is by Rebecca Blunt and it is actually her very first writing credit, so a really huge project to start off your career. It runs for almost 120 minutes and tells the story of two brothers planning and executing a heist while people pay attention to a nearby car race. There are many well-known actors in here. Tatum and Driver play the central characters while the supporting cast is also star-studded: Holmes, MacFarlane, 2-time Oscar winner Swank and Daniel Craig with platinum blonde hair. The latter was of course great fun for me as I am a big Bond fan and you really don't get to see Craig a lot outside the franchise. And "fun" is also what this film is really all about. It does not offer any truly great performances or deep and sophisticated character writing, but it is a truly entertaining adventure from start to finish. You will need a little while to understand and remember who is who as there are really many characters part of the story here, but once you made this connection, it becomes a really rewarding watch.

Well perhaps there is a weakness here and there and the whole concept is not too realistic and probably nothing that could have actually happened like that in real life, but that does not take away one bit from the fun factor. It's most likely a film that will not find any slots during the most crucial awards ceremonies, but it is highly enjoyable and sometimes that's worth even more. A colorful, fast and often witty work that succeeds thanks to the likability of the characters in it. Almost everything was done right here and I think with the Coens in charge, this could have been one of the year's best as the story and approach would really fit their style. The way it actually turned out it was "only" a good movie, but definitely a highly promising rookie effort by Blunt that certainly makes me curious about her future projects. 2 hours certainly worth seeing. Go for it.