Fantastic!

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

David Carradine, sporting an earring and a short, severely cropped coiffure which makes him resemble a rough trade Greenwhich Village gay leatherbar regular, is his customary lean, laconic, stoical, stubbornly nonconformist self as Harley, a fiercely independent and self-reliant moonshine runner who locks horns with fat, odious slimeball rival Hunnicutt (a broadly mugging hunk of overripe ham by Roger C. Carmel) over who has exclusive dibs on a lucrative Florida illegal whiskey business. Naturally, there are further complications; Harley's fretful, peevish'n'pettish steady girlfriend (comely brunette Kate Jackson, who looks like she just sashayed off the set of "Charlie's Angels") just happens to be Hunnicutt's firebrand daughter, two bickering, bumbling New York mafia hit men are trying to rub out Hunnicutt, and Harley has to intercept a shipment of poisonous rotgut before the driver makes a potentially lethal delivery. Directed with workmanlike efficiency by Corey Allen, bookended by a rousing air-boat chase at the beginning and a similarly stirring extended car chase in the last reel, with Andy Stein's sprightly bluegrass score and James Pergola's sunny, golden-hued cinematography adding additional spice to the already tasty mix, this affably lightweight drive-in item certainly hits the satisfying spot somethin' solid. Moreover, the dense, marshy Everglades swamp locations are suitably picturesque, the pace clips along at a speedy rate, there's a smattering of nudity, everybody talks with extremely thick'n'heavy drawling good ol' boy Southern accents, Pat Cranshaw and Sterling Holloway are very funny and engaging as a pair of amiable old fuddy dud moonshine makers, and late, great crime novelist Charles Willeford has a nice cameo as a shady, shifty bartender. Better still, the flick overall offers a cheery, good-natured, basically harmless and entertaining celebration of that quintessentially 70's grind-house anti-hero: the carefree, firmly individualistic and autonomous "I just wanna do my own thing" uncompromisingly free-spirited loner. Best scene: Carradine uses his patented martial arts prowess to beat the living tar out of scruffy, bellicose cracker Charles Napier, which prompts Napier to snarl the following deathless zinger: "Hey a**hole, knock off that kung fu s**t!" Fun stuff.

David Carradine is Harley Thomas, a moonshine runner. Trouble is, he's one of the small time operators. His fiancé, Nancy Sue Hunnicutt (Kate Jackson), just happens to be the daughter of the biggest operator in the area. And R.J. Hunnicutt (Roger C. Carmel) doesn't take kindly to Harley's business or his relationship with his daughter. R.J.'s also got a batch of poison moonshine set to go out. Harley and Nancy Sue make their mission to stop the truck carrying the tainted whiskey before it reaches its destination.The best word I can think of to describe Thunder and Lightning is disappointing. I had high hopes for this one, but for the most part, it's just plain dull. I usually enjoy most everything David Carradine has done and I've grown to be a fan of these 70s chase films, but I found very little to enjoy here. The comedy elements don't work, the fight scenes seem lazily done, and the acting is terrible. The whole thing seems to have been thrown together in a hurry as a cash-in on the success of Smokey and the Bandit. It's too bad because I like the idea of pairing Carradine with Kate Jackson.The best parts of the film are easily some of the car and boat chase stunts. The swamp boat scenes were great. Problem is these moments are too few and far between. Instead, we get too much of the bad attempts at humor and drama.

2 out of 10 Contrived good ol' boy, yahoo nonsense that is taken into overdrive. There really is no need to talk about the story since it is very derivative and just an excuse to put in a lot of smash up car chases. The filmmakers seem compelled to come up with every southern stereotype they can think of. There is the grizzled, uneducated, overall wearing, backwoods moonshiners. There is also the grubby, beer swilling, uneducated, pick up truck driving rednecks with names like Bubba and Scooter. Then there's the virtuous, but spunky southern daughter with a accent that is really annoying. There is even a scene where a couple of down home boys jump into a car and shout "yahoo!" as it takes off. It's all a very one dimensional, uninspired mess that makes you feel completely brain dead after about ten minutes. The production values aren't too good. The sound is muffled and there are too many quick cuts making some of the action hard to follow. The whole thing looks rushed and haphazard and simply done to cash in on the success of SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT. Carradine's performance is much too subdued. He seems to have no energy and is just mouthing his lines. Jackson is pretty, but her personality is much too strong. The only fun piece of casting is Holloway. He plays the main moonshiner and is probably best known as the voice of Winnie the Pooh. This was to be his last film appearance. The film has a few good moments that are worth mentioning. One is a unique speed boat chase done on a large swamp. There is a segment where a minister preaches his sermon while wrestling with a alligator. There are also hit men who like in PULP FICTION have unusual conversations. Some of the strange topics include too much violence on TV, Captain Kangaroo, and even Norman Vincent Peale. There is also one really good inside joke. Napier is having a fight with Carradine and yells out "Hey as----- knock off the Kung Fu sh--."

Thunder and Lightning is an interesting movie, it's an action movie with a plot! The characters actually have reasons to do what they do. David Carradine stars as a bootlegger and Kate Jackson is his fiancee. Her father is a soft-drink manufacturer who is secretly making and distributing large quantities of moonshine. The conflict starts when her father's goons decide to close down Carradine's operation. It is pretty much an adventure comedy from then on, with lots of car chases, fights, banjo music, rednecks, hillbillies and moonshine. Watch for the gator-wrestling church!