LOGAN LUCKY... being grateful sometimes helps

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you see someone doing something that might seems wrong? Would you judge the situation according to your morals or would you be curious to know what hides behind all the situation? It's easy to blame others for what happens out there but how many times others blame you for it's happening to them? "Logan Lucky" (2017) is a new heist movie that offers something different for a summer popcorn. It's actually a very funny film but delivers all with heart and brain. Just when we think we've seen all about robberies packed of action sequences and bad guys trying to get away with some money and revenge to the wealthy, we get a new vision from director Steven Sodenbergh, back from his retirement from the industry just to deliver another compelling story about the power of love and human conditions that can prove how complex we are and why we shouldn't judge by the cover because behind anyone's simple life exists a complexity of situations that will turn the whole picture into many shades and layers that might look as any Van Gough painting. So what we get instead is the story of three siblings, the Logan's. two brothers and a sister, that with the lack of opportunities in their natal West Virginia state, are just trying to survive their day by day, as a construction worker, bar tender and hair stylist. But as any small town, people like to talk, and see them as a group of losers, doing nothing with their lives, just taking one bad decision after the other . But they are not as stupid as they seem. They are just suffering the consequences of life, one that hasn't been generous to them. With no more family to take care of them they take care of each other. The oldest saw all his dreams fall apart once he was the QB of her football team in high school when his knee got hurt and with no money to treat it, left him out of any option to keep playing and go to college. But after getting married and divorced when he couldn't not provide all the luxurious life his wife wanted running after another guy that will provide what she really needs and wants, he finds his purpose in the eyes of his young daughter. A smart little girl that sees her father as a hero and a role model to her besides all the commodities that her mom is trying to provide . She is not like that and exactly that makes her closer to her dad. Someone that at every one else is a loser.

And his younger brother is not enjoying the best as well after losing his arm and ended working at a bar where he's good at what he does and when you put this two together great things can happen. That's why once life keeps bringing them just bad notes they decide that enough is enough and take any opportunity as might come whatever it takes and no matter what the consequences could be. So even they always talked about robbing a bank the opportunity comes in hands of NASCAR and their first race of the season which will happen in their town. So as any heist movie and actual robbery, it can't be done just by themselves so some help will be needed and for so the share of the profits will happen too. And that's ok, they are aware that getting greedy is not part of the plain but can ruin it. They have a list of steps and rules to follow to succeed and if they are smart enough to put all the plan together they should be to follow it. And the last part will be execute it and as any other movie of the genre this is where they get you rooting for the bad guys to succeed and start realizing that they are not always bad people but just an average person suffering the lack of opportunities like culture and a career or maybe just broken because family issues or bad relationships that had take them to a dark place where they need to get out and most of the time, the exit is not an easy one but the one that  will test them and us to understand and relate to their circumstances before judging their actions as taking some money from the ones that have taken most from them, and not talking only about money but their careers, future , dreams, goals and family. So when you push someone to the corner and they  realize there's no other place to go will feel threatened and their survival instinct will be to do whatever it takes to get out of it even if that seems like a bad option for us standing in better place.

But the fun part of the movie is witnessing all this plan being executed as we have no idea how they are planning to make it and if they will because all sounds impossible and hard to believe coming from simple, ordinary , losers like them. But they are far from losers or stupid, they might not look like your account executive or your financial adviser but they know what they are doing and part of it is for you to believe they are not . So when taking the money from an event where thousands of people are attending and security should be on top to protect them, is actually funny to walker that all what security is concerned about the cars and their drivers and people watching the race so they don't do anything that will affect the race but no one is looking behind the curtain so whatever is happening  under their noses is not a matter of priority while won't affect the race and no one will look at these guys that look like lost in the crowd and far from criminals because those are behind the bars and contained in prison. Or what would you do if one day you realize that everything that you have done is gone? No romantic relationships but a failure one that can provide the best for your children, and no career because life has taken it from you and your job just keeps kicking your ass leavin you jobless and with no money to provide to your family. What if you wake up realizing that you are trapped in this same place where you've been for years and there's no way out other than break the rules and do something different because there are no opportunities knocking at your door anytime soon. And you are just happy and proud living at your home town, a place that you love but at the same time is holding you back, keeping you away from any opportunity as everybody who knows you keeps judging for what you were at some point making it hard for anyone to move forward.

The movies moves at a fast pace mixing its time between the planing and execution of the heist while getting to know these characters and their motives and mostly proving to the audience that they can be anyone you know. Your neighbor or some relative that has been through difficult times. These guys have a motivation and not only the siblings but their new team and associates, who had been in prison but also serving time as part of their bad decisions and not entirely because we can catalogue them as bad people trying to hurt others or cause some trouble. They just want a piece of what they feel they deserve to have a decent life. Would you judge someone just for their actions not knowing the background of them or their real motives? Is there something totally right or wrong, that can't be put somewhere in between? It's all about the whole picture and that with stick with you from now on? Even that all this sounds very deep and serious the movie also manages to not take itself too serious. It's definitely not a drama but more a realistic comedy where this people is just ironic when facing their live and the ways that has moved for them, but also serving to expose the rest of us as a judge mental society focusing on being a moral person, successful and ambitious no matter what it takes or if a long the way you can hurt others but not too bad to cause damage that can't be undone.  So if you get lucky you better be smart to manage your luck and opportunities to make the best of it instead of throwing it to the garbage but it happens that you are truth to yourself you can prove others wrong and get away with what you want but always remembering to be grateful to the ones that helped you and using the ones that didn't as a cover for your mistakes and enjoy the ride along with Channing Tatum and Adam Driver playing a southern accent and teaming up with Daniel Craig while avoiding Hilary Swank as an FBI agent that can't buy the whole story and is so sure of what these guys just did, but if you want to figure out while having a good time don't miss this opportunity and a well done heist movie to say goodbye to a very sad and lack of excitement summer.