By all accounts, Steven Soderbergh did a terrible job at retiring. Admittedly, the filmmaker’s self-imposed exile from the industry only lasted for three years, but in that time he directed all 20 episodes of The Knick and Off-Broadway play The Library, recut and released his own version of infamous flop Heaven’s Gate, debuted a black-and-white silent version of Raiders of the Lost Ark, executive produced the TV adaptation of his movie The Girlfriend Experience, created interactive dual-media murder mystery series Mosaic and acted as the cinematographer, editor, and camera operator on sequel Magic Mike XXL.
After ‘officially’ ending his retirement, 2017’s Logan Lucky marked his first feature-length directorial effort in four years, and since then Soderbergh has helmed another five films, with his latest No Sudden Move debuting exclusively on HBO Max today. The period thriller follows a gang of criminals in 1954 Detroit, tasked with stealing an important document. Naturally, the job goes awry, leading to the crew heading out on a search to find the people who hired and double-crossed them, seeking to uncover why they were set up.
As you’d expect from any Soderbergh effort, the cast of No Sudden Move is absolutely stacked. The Academy Award-winning director reunites with his Ocean’s Eleven star Don Cheadle, and the ensemble also boasts Benicio del Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm, Ray Liotta, Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, and many more.
Interestingly, despite the caliber of talent involved on either side of the camera, No Sudden Move isn’t one of Warner Bros.’ hybrid releases, but a straight-up HBO Max original. Then, again it’s not all that surprising either, when Soderbergh has always been famed for exploring every possible avenue of the industry, whether it’s technique, platform, or technology.