Before tackling The Deer Hunter in 1978, director Michael Cimino made his debut with this Clint Eastwood-led film that opened to critical acclaim. Also starring Jeff Bridges in one of his early roles, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot begins as a road movie and ends as a heist movie, but with a comic tone throughout.
Thunderbolt (Eastwood) and Lightfoot (Bridges) meet by complete accident. Thunderbolt is an ex-bank robber and is hiding out, pretending to be a priest. However, he has made a lot of enemies in his time and an assassin attempts to take him out whilst he is delivering a sermon. Lightfoot, who has just stolen a car, drives into the assassin chasing Thunderbolt and thus saves his life by complete fluke. The two quickly become friends and, after Thunderbolt reveals his true identity to Lightfoot, they agree to carrying out a heist.
Bridges is undoubtedly the star of the show. Being the chattier of the two leads, it helps he has a lot of quirky dialogue to work with, but even Eastwood’s retorts and quips don’t seem to land a blow. The two build up a great rapport in the first act of the movie and, when two other recruits join the heist team, their relationship takes a back seat but never suffers due to the time spent building it up.
The heist itself is great. The four men first get jobs in the area surrounding the target bank, earning money to pay for the tools and kit they need to carry out the heist. Once it begins, the entertainment does not stop. Blending both tension and comedy - Lightfoot is forced to dress up as a woman in order to get himself into the bank, ultimately for no reason - Cimino seems to delight in showing us how his action unfolds.
A comical crime caper held together by two great leads and an unrelenting pace, this is a fun escape to a kind of film rarely made anymore.
Score: 74/100