Steven Soderbergh’s 2017 heist comedy Logan Lucky has found a new life on Netflix. Despite a stellar cast and critical praise, the film under performed at the box office, bringing in only $48 million against a $29 million budget. Logan Lucky, led by Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, and Daniel Craig, landed on Netflix earlier this month and quickly made its way onto the streamer’s Top Ten list, indicating that the hidden gem may have just needed a different platform.
Ocean’s trilogy filmmaker Soderbergh directs Logan Lucky, but Logan Lucky and the Ocean’s films have very little in common except the heist part. Where Ocean’s is set in a world with glamorous characters and intricate heists, Logan Lucky features rural, working-class people who lack thorough planning in their robbery efforts. The latter follows the story of two brothers, Jimmy (Tatum) and Clyde Logan (Driver), and their sister Mellie (Riley Keough), who attempt to pull off a heist during a NASCAR race in North Carolina.
Logan Lucky‘s talented ensemble cast is rounded off by Daniel Craig as demolition expert Joe Bang; Katie Holmes as Bobbie Jo, Jimmy’s ex-wife; Seth MacFarlane as British entrepreneur Max Chilblain; Hilary Swank as Sarah Grayson, the FBI agent investigating the robbery; Sebastian Stan as NASCAR driver Dayton White, and Katherine Waterston as Sylvia, Jimmy’s former classmate.
The film currently holds a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (and holds up pretty well with a 76% audience score). It’s an overall success with critics, who praise Soderbergh for his directorial vision, the cast for their comedy chops, and writer Jules Asner for a clever plot. In MovieWeb’s review, Julian Roman writes that the “hillbilly heist caper” is “another feather in the cap of a great filmmaker” and names Driver and Craig as the “standouts in a great ensemble cast.” Simply put: it’s a fun film worth watching, especially from the comfort of your couch.
Steven Soderbergh’s Evolving Career
Soderbergh, who made his directorial debut with 1989’s Palme d’Or winning indie drama Sex, Lies, and Videotapes, announced his retirement from film directing in 2013 but returned to the director’s chair for Logan Lucky. Soderbergh has since directed several films, including Let Them All Talk, Kimi, and Magic Mike’s Last Dance. Among his other acclaimed projects are Erin Brockovich, The Informant!, Contagion, and Traffic, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Director. Soderbergh will next be at the helm of the spy drama Black Bag, starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender. Regé-Jean Page, Marisa Abela, Naomie Harris, Tom Burke, and Pierce Brosnan also appear in the film, which lands in theaters on March 14, 2025.
While George Clooney recently confirmed that a script for a fourth installment of the Oceans 11 trilogy is in the works, unfortunately, we won’t see Soderbergh back at the helm. In January, he shared that he had turned down the opportunity to expand the franchise:
“After we made the third movie, I felt like the series was very much concluded for me. When the studio approached me to see if I’d be involved in continuing the franchise, I told them no, because it just doesn’t feel like a move forward for me.”
