Logan Lucky

Logan Lucky (2017) is a heist film in which the robbery is done through the money tubes under a NASCAR track during a race. Jimmy Logan loses his job, his brother Clyde is a bartender who lost an arm in the war, and they believe their family is cursed. The plan needs someone who understands explosives, and that man is in prison. So they first have to get him out, use him, and put him back. Soderbergh came out of retirement for this and distributed it himself. The budget was raised entirely from foreign pre-sales; the cast worked for scale with a share of the takings. Every right other than the cinema showing was then sold, and that money paid for advertising. There was no studio, and nobody could inflate the marketing spend. The screenplay is credited to Rebecca Blunt, and whether that is a real person has never been settled. Cast members said they corresponded with someone writing from Britain, but nobody appeared on set. Soderbergh rejected the claims. Daniel Craig bleached his hair and changed his accent for the part, and his is the most enjoyable work in it. It did not take what was expected at the box office. It runs 118 minutes. Good for: heist films, Soderbergh, and quiet humour. Less good for: the pace is deliberately slow and the ending offers a solution rather than tension.