Who would’ve known, even Steven Soderbergh’s been bitten by the Game of Thrones bug.Logan Lucky is Steven Soderbergh’s return to mainstream cinema after a self imposed exile which he attributed to his disgruntlement with the Hollywood system but if you ask me, as a viewer Soderbergh’s gradual departure from conformity to the rules of Hollywood has been visible for a while now.The hiatus was only from feature films and during the time he had shifted his focus to the smaller screen.True to his indie roots, he has experimented relentlessly throughout his career with themes and treatment.In his comeback vehicle, Soderbergh has also taken on corporate Hollywood by opting to distribute the film directly.So its anyone’s guess that the director has an eye on the burgeoning streaming business and the home audience and it’s hardly surprising that he based an entire sequence during a prison riot sequence on one of the most successful shows of all time, Game of Thrones.The scene’s a riot, literally.
Logan Lucky is a smart film, like every other Soderbergh film to date.For a man who pulled off a heist trilogy with almost the same premise and cast, this must have been cakewalk indeed.Soderbergh has gone for the minimalistic approach here too but for a film that raised its budget by selling overseas rights Logan Lucky is deeply entrenched in the American South, i felt.The film takes its own sweet time to build up pace and is a thinking man’s heist movie with a sense of humor.Most of the delivery is deadpan and Adam Driver along with a bleached Daniel Craig contributes generously in that department.Channing Tatum, a Soderbergh regular of late appears determined to make a mark as an actor and play down on his hunk persona while he’s at that.
Having said that,the movie doesn’t look or feel like your regular holiday weekend caper, and that’s probably exactly how Soderbergh intended it to be.He has made a film on his own terms, with absolute creative control as he puts it, which is the primary reason why he locked horns with the big studios.With Logan Lucky at least, this approach works to an extent but in the same breath its one of those movies which would work better on a streaming network rather than in movie halls i can’t but help feel, and thats where Soderbergh’s headed as a filmmaker ultimately, if i am not wrong.Despite all the critical acclaim, this experiment by Soderbergh might end up with more takers at home rather than in movie halls.
gopakumarpurushothaman 