I knew that director Steven Soderbergh was coming out of retirement to do another movie. I knew it because even though it was bitter to see him depart from his moviemaking, there was a thought that he could provide us some more original stories that will be shown in the theaters. Yes, he had made a couple of TV movies like the solid Behind the Candelabra. But, Side Effects, one of his best movies in his pedigree of movies, left a great impression. So, is he rusty or is he capable of making a good movie? I definitely think the latter because the movie has an independent feel to his caper flick, this is a fun independent caper flick that is somewhat similar to two of his Ocean's movies. It aims at a good, entertaining level with such precision thanks to the cast and his direction.
It has been a tough life for Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum), a laid-off, divorced blue collar laborer. He has been let go from his job at Charlotte Motor Speedway and his ex-wife, Bobbi Jo (Katie Holmes), has given news that she and her new husband are intending to move to Lynchburg, which will be more difficult for Jimmy to visit their daughter. Jimmy is furious and talks to his brother, Clyde (Adam Driver), who is the owner of a bar and an Iraq War veteran. He lost part of his left arm and now has to wear a prothetic hand. Max Chilblain (Seth McFarlane) gets into a fight with Jimmy after insulting Clyde and Max burns his car.
Jimmy and Clyde set up a plan the next day by using the former's knowledge of the speedway to use a tube system to siphon money during a car show when security is not tight. Clyde agrees so they assemble a team together: Joe Bang (Daniel Craig), an explosives expert, his brothers Sam and Fish (Brian Gleeson and Jack Quaid) and their own sister, Mellie (Riley Keough). Clyde gets himself arrested to help Joe escape from prison, so in a sensational sequence, they stage a "riot" for prisoners to against the policemen and they escape through the infirmary, hide under a truck and taken to the speedway driven by Mellie. So, the heist begins.
I had fun. It basically mixes all three flavors of the Ocean's movies with a different setting in West Virginia that gives us an authentic feel of the country life. I have never seen it before and it starts out very strong where the crew has to be assembled, concoct a plan and are thrown in some bumps on their way to the main heist. I felt like the movie's build-up to the heist and the banter between the crew was more entertaining than the aftermath of the heist. The heist was good with a fun lesson about making a bomb using gummy bears. However, afterwards, there is an additional layer to the heist that came out of nowhere and felt narratively unfocused and unnecessary. It was an anticlimax. But, it is not enough to acknowledge that the movie was a disappointment, yet, it is still a fun movie.
The cast is great across the board. Channing Tatum is still very good being in such off-neath movies like this that he disappears into characters that are in desperate situations to make his life better. Adam Driver is great as the brother, having enjoyable chemistry with both Tatum and Riley Keough (who is good). The scene-stealer for me is Daniel Craig, whose suaveness is good and blends into another different range of charm that feels exciting and fresh. Seth McFarlane felt out a bit of place here, Katherine Waterston was a bit underused (there is one scene) and Hilary Swank, who is actually good and it was great to see her again, comes in too little too late and could punch in 10-15 minutes more of the movie so the conclusion would be better.
Director Steven Soderbergh's craftsmanship is quite proven on-screen with such tight editing and joyful style and cinematography. Sometime, the pacing slows down a bit. Rebecca Blunt's screenplay starts with edginess and wit but dials down into convention and implausibility that made me lost and a bit confused about its conclusion. However, the fresh wit edges out the implausibility for me because of the performances, the editing and the superb, elaborate, country-style dialogue that makes the experience more fun. If this is Soderbergh's Ocean's 14, I like it. It is not in the same league as Eleven but it may be better than its sequels.
***
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