This was the movie that made Michael Cimino's career, and it's easy to see why. A deft mixture of comedy, action, suspense, and even tragedy, THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT follows the adventures of four mismatched bank robbers -- steely Eastwood, goofy Bridges, volatile Kennedy, and wimpy Lewis -- as they plot to heist the Montana State Depository for the second time in ten years (the first time, the loot was lost, and Kennedy wrongly suspects Eastwood of double-crossing him on the job.) Along the way, they grapple with psychotic muscle-car drivers, horny housewives, snotty kids, doom-prophesizing gas-station attendants, motorcycle-riding female vandals, and a host of the modern Wild West's other crazy characters. The stars and the bit-players alike turn in great performances, and the film captures both the beauty and the weirdness of Seventies Western America, where nearly everyone seems to be either a fearless Freak or a cowering Normal, and old-school criminals like Eastwood and Kennedy maintain uneasy alliances with free-spirited young miscreants like Bridges in the pursuit of stolen cash. Definitely a must-watch for fans of the leads, as well as lovers of oddball action/crime flicks, or anyone intrigued by the outlaws-loose-in-America film-genre that began with EASY RIDER, and largely vanished in the wake of STAR WARS.










