DVD REVIEW: Thunderbolt and Lightfoot

Shane | 5 June 2015 | Reply

DVD REVIEW: Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
Shock Entertainment
1 April, 2015
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
8/10

A tense and edgy heist film, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot has seasoned thief John ‘Thunderbolt’ Doherty (Clint Eastwood) forming an uneasy alliance with brash youngster ‘Lightfoot’ (Jeff Bridges, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the role) to reprise one of his earlier robberys which went wrong.

Failing to elude his old gang-mates (George Kennedy and Geoffrey Lewis) who think he ripped them off, Thunderbolt manages to convince them that he wasn’t to blame and to side with him again to repeat the robbery.

What follows is a drama-filled tightrope walk by all the interested parties, with double-crossing and mistrust the name of the game, before a payoff ending with a tragic surprise twist in the tail.

Whilst the fashion may be dated, filmmaking like this never goes out of style, and Thunderbolt and Lightfoot’s slow burn and great chemistry proves a winner, more than forty years after it was made by debut director Michael Cimino, who would go on to direct The Deerhunter amongst other films.