Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Abegail Noëlle While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

one-nine-eighty Part road trip movie, part Heist movie "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" brings together Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges. The film could be rolled out in two distinct chapters because the first part is getting to know the characters, while the second part is the juicy stuff. An accidental meeting brings together a preacher with a young careless tearaway, Eastwood is Thunderbolt and Bridges is Lightfoot. With the help of his new friend and potential sidekick, Thunderbolt - a bank robber in hiding, decides to come back out of his 7 year retirement for one last score. His biggest regret is the last job he was part of, some of the gang got locked away and some have passed away. After doing the last job the money was hidden and since remains unclaimed, which is an even bitterer pill for Thunderbolt as it means it came to nothing. It's suggested that the last thing the authorities will expect, is the same job, at the same location, using the same methods - so plans are made to do just that. Geoffrey Lewis (Goody) and George Kennedy (Red) join Thunderbolt and Lightfoot to set the record straight and do the job that didn't get finished off properly last time. This Michael Camino debut film is great fun and stinks of the 70's, both from a content and narrative point of view. There is plenty of character development and the plot is enough to keep you going right to the end with plenty of twists and turns as well as thrills and spills. It's tragically romantic, funny, tense and filled with good times for all - albeit with a little bit of harmless 70's sexism in it too. From the start it looks like Lightfoot's rebellious nature is due to a lack of father figure, or a brother in arms, which he finds in Thunderbolt - thus adding to the romanticism. Clint Eastwood is cool but distant, much like some of the other characters he's played before - a standard performance. Jeff Bridges on the other hand, is youthful, rebellious and full of spunk - his energy carried and drove the film. There are some random and pointless situations in the movie which don't get answered, and at times it looks like Camino just wants things that look cool rather than that are part of the story. Take for example how Goode and Red manage to keep finding Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, despite them having changed cars and locations. Another example is the drunk redneck that picks them up - why does he have a racoon, why does he have rabbits - wtf is it all about? If you ignore all the random oddities then the film is good, complimented by a lovely soundtrack which fits the beautiful scenery on display. I guess this is a classic Americana film - brotherly love, open roads, middle-finger up to the law, beer, women, and cars. You won't be disappointed if you stumble across this one weekend and I'd recommend it to film fan new and old, whether you are looking for a heist movie, a road-trip movie or just a buddy movie. 8 out of 10.

classicsoncall When I select a quote from a film to use in my summary line, it's generally done to capture the flavor of the story or place an emphasis on one of the principal characters. Contrary to what many of the positive posters for the movie have to say about it, I think the thunderbolt I came up with pretty much sums things up. This might be the best example of a film for me where I depart so widely from what looks like the majority. I guess that's why they say it takes all kinds.You know, if I were Johnny Thunderbolt (Clint Eastwood), I don't think I'd have been so open minded about letting my potential assassin come along after patching up a disagreement. Red haired women might have been bad luck, but it seemed like a guy named Red (George Kennedy) could do a lot more damage. Turns out he did too, a bad career move for the trusting bank robber.So what was this, a buddy movie, a heist film, a crime story, what? There were just too many irrelevant things happening and coming out of nowhere that didn't do anything to advance the story, that it eventually slid into boredom for this viewer. Vic Tayback and Gary Busey in the credited cast? I saw each of them on screen for about three seconds - what did I miss? And say, what was that piece of heavy duty artillery that Thunderbolt used to blow a hole through the safe? The darn thing was longer than the car they were driving but it fit into the trunk!!?? I'll give director Cimino one kudo here for putting the 'trunk full of rabbits' guy (Bill McKinney) into the picture, that for me was the best part of the story. It didn't make any sense or have anything to do with anything else going on, but it was a pretty cool diversion. I never had any trouble with tribbles, so for one brief moment, the movie had my attention.

SnoopyStyle Thunderbolt (Clint Eastwood) is a bank robber hiding out as a preacher and the only one who knows where the loot is hidden. Red Leary (George Kennedy) tracks him down and shoots at him. Lightfoot (Jeff Bridges) is passing by driving his stolen Camaro and rescues Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt can't get rid of him. Red Leary and Eddie Goody (Geoffrey Lewis) continues to follow them. Thunderbolt discovers his hiding place, an old schoolhouse, has been replaced with a new school. With his loot presumably gone, the four rivals decide to join forces to take down a big score with an anti-tank gun.Michael Cimino delivers some beautifully shoot scenes and some wild characters. He also has the great Eastwood and a young stud in Bridges. It's a fairly simple heist movie composed of really interesting scenes. The acting is terrific and the guys have good chemistry. For all the wild action, the most memorable is the outrageous man with the rabbits in his truck. This is a hidden gem from the 70s.

FilmCriticLalitRao Before making his directorial debut in 1974, American director Michael Cimino had already written two films 'Silent Running' and 'Magnum Force'. The experience of writing these big budget films proved much too beneficial for him. It is with perfect ease that Michael Cimino has been able to mix crime, comedy and drama in his film. These three elements have been merged with beautiful locales to give the film the looks of a complete entertainer. As a film 'Thunderbolt and Lightfoot' pays excellent homage to the notion of friendship built on admiration and mutual trust. It is a friendship which builds over a period of time as both friends are able to ascertain their strengths and weaknesses. Actors Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges are this film's friends in question. Apart from admiring each other for unique personalities, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot are also involved in the quest for finding hidden money. It is through a series of hilarious adventures filled with comedy, melodrama and violence that they are able to achieve coveted success. However, it is said time and again that there is a price to be paid for every success. This is the most important lesson one learns from this highly entertaining film.