Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges forge a beautiful friendship in the land of opportunity. Their aim, to keep on surviving – and maybe a beer or two.
Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges in most people’s minds is a match made in heaven, in every sense of the word. Clint who is the already established, Hollywood leading man, known for playing gun toting cowboys or rough and ready cops (who always gets his man). The leading man who steals every film he is in, takes his turn this time around in a caper comedy/road movie/heist/thriller, (it really does cover that many genres) lining up with a fresh-faced Bridges. There is a strong argument in saying that Bridges equals and may even soar past his experienced partner with a performance that shows his full range. Although, it is the bromance that takes centre stage as we watch the two men genuinely having a blast right in front of our eyes.
Director Michael Cimino, who gained illustrious fame for directing 1979’s The Deer Hunter; and almost a year later his career was bludgeoned to death by his own hands, I am of course talking about the universally panned Heaven’s Gate (1980). Thankfully, Cimino got the good ones out of the way first and Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is up there with his best works. The already formidable cast of Eastwood and Bridges is aided by a couple of cinema stalwarts in George Kennedy – known to us as “Dragline” in 1967’s Cool Hand Luke – and coming up the rear is Geoffrey Lewis who masters the art of quirky sidekick as perfectly as ever.
The film opens with Lightfoot (Bridges) stealing a car from a showroom and heading further down the road in the long search for his destiny. He comes across Thunderbolt (Eastwood) who is in a high-speed foot chase with an unknown enemy who also seems to be shooting at him. In an attempt at swerving out of Thunderbolts way, Lightfoot hits and kills the unknown assailant, thus sparking a newfound friendship; the master and the apprentice, and the apprentice wants to know all the tricks that are on offer, even dishing out a few pearls of wisdom himself – most notably the trick to acquiring two lovely young ladies at the click of one’s fingers.
Whilst on their travels, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot must try to evade the clutches of Thunderbolt’s old gang members, the slapstick duo of Red and Eddie (Kennedy and Lewis) who believe that they were double crossed by Thunderbolt after their last heist, leading to him “hiding the money”. Unable to find the large sum of cash, the old gang is reformed – with the addition of new member Lightfoot – and plan a new heist, the same heist as the last heist they did, (not nearly as confusing as it sounds). This does lead to a humorous segment in the film where the gang take up menial jobs as a means of obtaining the cash that will set their plan into motion. Will the heist go off without a hitch or is there an inkling of betrayal by these so-called friends of yesteryear?
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot really ticks all the boxes in what makes a classic film, great storyline that is constructed with genuine humour, a fantastic on-screen relationship where the characters become lifelong companions. Cimino’s direction is subtle as he lets the landscape, the script and the actors do what they do best and only assisting them on their way. For me though, it is Bridges that steals the show. The range in his portrayal of Lightfoot is heart-warming and mysterious, the ending scenes are an emotional cocktail of joy and pain, scenes I will not forget in a hurry and set Bridges up for the outstanding career he was destined to have.
Available to rent from Amazon Prime now.
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