Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is an incredibly bizarre movie but I’d really imagine you’d be hard pressed not to have a good time with it. In fact, it’s one of the only films I can think of that coasts along almost entirely on vibes. For being partially a crime movie, there is remotely zero tension for the majority of the runtime, and there is an overall breezy feel to the whole thing. This creates a really unique and admittedly odd atmosphere, but when you kind of just lean back and watch Clint + Jeff laugh and have a good time, it weirdly rubs off on you. I can’t say that relying entirely on “dudes rock” energy doesn’t wear a little thin as it goes on, and it’s certainly a touch longer than it needs to be, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t entertained by almost all of it. A weird case where what is presently happening in front of you scene to scene is consistently fun or entertaining, but when you stand back and view it as a whole picture it’s just incredibly bizarre. For the record, not necessarily a bad thing! Also features maybe the weirdest choice of movie to have Paul Williams singing for it, I recognized his voice instantly because I’m such a fan of his but had to look it up out of sheer confusion that he would be doing this movie. Again, bizarre!
Also it’s kind of lethargic nature is aided by the fact that every few minutes you are getting absolute eye candy of some of the most beautiful landscapes and nature scenes in America. I want to be everywhere that this was shot. The only frustrating part that I naturally think as a normal human being is that it would be better if all of that awe-inspiring nature was replaced by large AI data centers, but obviously we were all thinking that. Why is all of this gorgeous immaculate land sitting around doing nothing, this could be giving us all cancer/ruining the environment/making everything more expensive/stealing our jobs right now!
In all seriousness though, the one thing that did stand out to me, and again part of it’s weirdly defying nature, is how I was thinking the entire time how different this feels than what you would expect from its era, until the ending comes in and swiftly reminds you that this is a 70s movie. Oof. Brutal! Good flick, though! I can deal with bizarre if it’s interesting, fun, and has George Kennedy telling a child to go fuck a duck.
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is an incredibly bizarre movie but I’d really imagine you’d be hard pressed not to have a good time with it. In fact, it’s one of the only films I can think of that coasts along almost entirely on vibes. For being partially a crime movie, there is remotely zero tension for the majority of the runtime, and there is an overall breezy feel to the whole thing. This creates a really unique and admittedly odd atmosphere, but when you kind of just lean back and watch Clint + Jeff laugh and have a good time, it weirdly rubs off on you. I can’t say that relying entirely on “dudes rock” energy doesn’t wear a little thin as it goes on, and it’s certainly a touch longer than it needs to be, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t entertained by almost all of it. A weird case where what is presently happening in front of you scene to scene is consistently fun or entertaining, but when you stand back and view it as a whole picture it’s just incredibly bizarre. For the record, not necessarily a bad thing! Also features maybe the weirdest choice of movie to have Paul Williams singing for it, I recognized his voice instantly because I’m such a fan of his but had to look it up out of sheer confusion that he would be doing this movie. Again, bizarre!
Also it’s kind of lethargic nature is aided by the fact that every few minutes you are getting absolute eye candy of some of the most beautiful landscapes and nature scenes in America. I want to be everywhere that this was shot. The only frustrating part that I naturally think as a normal human being is that it would be better if all of that awe-inspiring nature was replaced by large AI data centers, but obviously we were all thinking that. Why is all of this gorgeous immaculate land sitting around doing nothing, this could be giving us all cancer/ruining the environment/making everything more expensive/stealing our jobs right now!
In all seriousness though, the one thing that did stand out to me, and again part of it’s weirdly defying nature, is how I was thinking the entire time how different this feels than what you would expect from its era, until the ending comes in and swiftly reminds you that this is a 70s movie. Oof. Brutal! Good flick, though! I can deal with bizarre if it’s interesting, fun, and has George Kennedy telling a child to go fuck a duck.
