One Of Daniel Craig’s Best Movies Is Blowing Up On Netflix

This post contains spoilers for “Logan Lucky.”

Steven Soderbergh rarely ever misses. The director almost retired some time back with the intention of 2013’s “Behind the Candelabra” being the final film he would helm, but thankfully, that did not come to pass. The script for “Logan Lucky” intrigued Soderbergh so much that he came out of retirement to direct it, and since then, he has been steadily involved in several projects over the years, including the upcoming “Presence,” which emerges as a brilliant entry in the supernatural horror genre. The 2017 heist-comedy, “Logan Lucky,” is quite underrated when mapped against the rest of Soderbergh’s filmography, but the film has made somewhat of a comeback, as it is currently among Netflix’s Top 10 movies in the U.S. (via FlixPatrol).

This prompts the question: why is “Logan Lucky” suddenly making a resurgence? Well, for starters, the film makes the most of the heist formula with a staggering ensemble cast — including Channing Tatum, Daniel Craig, Hilary Swank, Adam Driver, and Sebastian Stan, among others — and every performance is memorable. Moreover, the humor employed does not feel dated, and the narrative functions as an antithesis of Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s” movies, with the glitz and glamor stripped back to form a highly entertaining thriller that knows how to pace itself. The film also wears its endearing charm on its sleeve, with most of the gags set into motion sporting a clever spin and plenty of spirit. 

One good example is the staged prison riot sequence, where the prisoners lock themselves in the warden’s office to create a situation where they can make demands. One of those demands involves attaining a copy of George R.R. Martin’s “The Winds of Winter” — the sixth novel in his “A Song of Ice and Fire” series — but the warden says that he cannot fulfill this request, as it hasn’t been published yet. Chaos ensues due to this reveal, and this extended gag feels especially funny now, as “The Winds of Winter” still hasn’t been published almost seven years after the film’s release.

Now, let’s dive deeper into what else makes “Logan Lucky” so rewatchable.

Brothers Jimmy (Tatum) and Clyde (Driver) Logan are somewhat of an unlucky duo. Jimmy gets laid off from his construction job at the NASCAR track — the Charlotte Motor Speedway — due to a previous injury that he failed to disclose to his manager, and heads straight to Clyde, who works at a bar. An ex-soldier who lost an arm during the Iraq War, Clyde agrees to go along with Jimmy’s plan to rob his former employer, and this prompts the formation of a heist crew filled with oddball characters, including the eccentric Joe Bang (Craig), a demolitions expert who thrives a little too much amidst the anarchy he inspires. Of course, the shenanigans are played mostly for comedic effect, which works incredibly well, but it is clear that these people are all too human, doing their utmost to make the best out of the messed-up circumstances that propel them toward an outlandish heist scheme.

Then there is FBI agent Sarah Grayson (Swank), who doggedly pursues the case and wishes to expose the culprits but lacks concrete evidence to arrest the gang (whose exploits are hilariously dubbed “Ocean’s Seven-Eleven” in the newspapers). The rest of the characters, some of whom spend very little time onscreen, are as indispensable as the core ensemble, such as the disgruntled racecar driver Dayton White (Stan), whose pretentiousness evokes a sharp contrast to the grounded nature of even the most out-there heist team members. The focal point of the film, the Logan brothers, are equal parts hilarious and heartrending. “Logan Lucky” has a lot of heart, but it doesn’t really dwell on the heavier aspects of its star personalities, as the point of the film is that you need to keep going forward, no matter what life decides to throw at you.

“Logan Lucky” is currently streaming on Netflix.