Review: Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)

Review: Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) post thumbnail image
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot poster Rating: 7.0/10 (28,625 votes)
Director: Michael Cimino
Writer: Michael Cimino
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, George Kennedy
Runtime: 115 min
Rated: R
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime
Released: 24 May 1974
Plot: With the help of an irreverent young sidekick, a bank robber gets his old gang back together to organize a daring new heist.

Despite owning the Clint Eastwood Collection in DVD, for some reason I’ve never gotten around to watching this entry in his career.  Even more surprising when you consider that I am also quite a big fan of Jeff Bridges.   So, the film became this month’s choice of ‘film I’ve not seen that I feel I should’, and am I glad that I chose it!

Lightfoot (played by Bridges) is small time thief who steals a car and chances upon a preacher (Clint Eastwood) trying to escape an assassin.  The preacher, it turns out, is a notorious robber known as The Thunderbolt who has been hiding out as a clergyman since the robbery of a Montana Bank.  It appears that members of Thunderbolt’s gang think he double-crossed them, which is why he is now on the run for his life.  Telling Lightfoot that the money was stashed in an old schoolhouse, the pair head to Warsaw to try to retrieve it, but complications make the task a lot trickier than thought.

Nicknamed Thunderbolt due to this unique manner he blows open safe doors.

Nicknamed Thunderbolt due to this unique manner he blows open safe doors.

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Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is an extremely likeable buddy movie, benefitted greatly by the presence of the two leads, whose contrasting natures gel perfectly on screen.  Rough edged Eastwood as Thunderbolt is stern and stoic, but over the course of his experiences with Bridges’ Lightfoot warms up a little, becoming more appreciative of life.  Bridges is the standout star, however, delivering the laid back charm that has served him well throughout his career, and his nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards was well deserved.

First time director Michael Cimino handles the affair well, and as writer also he seems to have written the roles for the cast as they match their off-screen personas well – although his work on the Eastwood starring Magnum Force probably gave him the insight into how to write for that actor.  As an opening venture into direction, the skill with which he handles the story, the locations, and the emotion (because underneath the buddy road movie is a very emotional undercurrent) may have been overlooked by the Academy that year, but a few years later he would score the double win for The Deer Hunter.  These early Cimino films would never be matched by his later career, and it is easy to dismiss Thunderbolt and Lightfoot as a result.  But, if like me you have been putting off watching this early film because Cimino’s name was attached, put aside your worries and delve right in, and you will find an enticing crime film with a layer of comedy, a great cast, and a thought provoking ending.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7KVPZcDoLo

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