By: Yelin Gemma Lee
I’m just going to come right out and say it: Logan Lucky is a fucking phenomenal movie. There was nobody more skeptical than me — the trailer was awful. I remember the first time I watched it, I got bored halfway through and didn’t even understand what kind of movie I would be walking into. I recall talking to my friend over the phone and saying, “This looks dumb, and it has too many admirable actors to be good . . . Fine, let’s watch it, I’ll pick you up in 10.”
For those of you that are just as confused as I was as to what the crap this movie is even about, here’s a quick rundown: two brothers in a nothing-to-lose point in their lives decide to plan a heist and getaway during the NASCAR race in North Carolina. The verdict? YES. Hell yes. This movie deserves every little bit of that 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Forget all the other comedies and crime movies that are on right now, this movie is the full package and is 100% worth the big screen glory. The critics’ insanely high reviews were what pulled my curious movie-addict self into the theatre — and WOW, do I ever agree.
“Forget all the other comedies and crime movies that are on right now, this movie is the full package . . .”
I’m going to make a brave reference and say I got Coen brothers feels from this movie. The plot circles around a robbery at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in a way that is creative and cunning. The actual robbery takes up maybe 10% of the movie and the rest of the it is the hilarious and smart psychological breakdown of the planning, execution, and the actual getting away with such a large-scale crime.
The characters and relationship building is absolutely fantastic, and the acting is great. I was horror-struck over fricken’ James Bond and Kylo Ren speaking in southern accents and playing non-iconic roles (because I’m a baby, apparently), but the acting was so well done that I was able to enjoy the movie despite . . . my inability to handle southern accents? God that sounds bad.
No spoilers, but the ending was one of those that reveals all the secrets of what happened in the movie, that neither the audience nor the other characters realized were happening at the time of the event. It was such a beautiful ending — the movie came full circle and the character development and intertwining networks between the characters was awesome.
Logan Lucky makes you simultaneously want to rob a bank and realize that you’d never be smart enough to do it. I think the best part of the movie was that it was smart but didn’t take itself too seriously — it was funny and ridiculous while still holding up a gold standard for character development and a sustainable plot line. I can’t give you a single reason why any of you should “just trust me” so instead I will encourage you to go watch the movie yourself for a wholly entertaining experience.
