Heist movies are dependent on the stakes involved and for Jimmy Logan, the stakes are rather modest.
After injuring his knee in a car accident and ruining any chance of playing in college or the NFL, Jimmy and his family, Clyde and sister Mellie, continue to suffer at the hands of fate, and she’s not so sympathetic.
Many townfolks believe the Logan family might be cursed, however, the Logans just take it as luck of the draw. But when Jimmy is let go from his construction job due to a pre-existing condition: the same knee that robbed him of a college scholarship; that sent his brother Clyde to join the military; Jimmy decides to take action.
The Team
What’s a heist without a bomb man? Here in enters Joe Bang, the expert bomb maker who’s currently serving time for doing the one thing he enjoys the most: blowing up shit. He and his two brothers are an eccentric element to this scheme and rightly so; they are none too smart in anything other than bomb making and following Joe Bang’s orders.
In a clever twist, the remainder of the team is completely unaware of their roles in what would become the most exciting thing to ever happen this side of the Mississippi. There’s an unwitting bank employee, Jimmy’s ex-wife’s current husband, and a prisoner, who all assist in one way or another without knowledge of ever have participated in the crime the Logan’s concoct.
The Plan
The plan never goes as well as it is plotted. There’s always some sort of mistake or unforeseen obstacle that derails the objection and puts everyone at risk of being caught. That’s why you must always have a Plan B. Plan B is usually the slight-of-hand that no one sees coming. As we watch everyone perform their assignments on the screen there’s an entirely different plan in action off-screen.
Soderbergh is good at keeping us entertained us by Plan A, so that execution of Plan B comes as a complete turnaround we as the audience didn’t see that coming. The idea to break a criminal out of jail to commit a crime was a genius idea that added an extra bit of suspense and difficulty to what was otherwise a simple job.
The Payout
Logan wasn’t a bad guy he was just doing a bad thing. In the payout, everyone benefited from his dip into the pool of criminal behavior. Doesn’t make it right, but it does validate the stakes just enough to make him Logan a redeemable person in the end.
Favorable Tidbit: Hilary Swank as Billy Bob Thorton
Listen to the audio version of this review: Wunza