Michael Cimino wrote this modern western tale about two outlaws and drifters who strike up a friendship while on the run, and star Clint Eastwood was set to direct himself before deciding to give Cimino, who had co-written Magnum Force the previous year, his big break in the directing chair. This move was probably a stroke of genius, because it ensured that Thunderbolt and Lightfoot didn’t end up as just another dour, humourless Eastwood action flick, but rather as a spirited buddy movie with a rare combo of revisionism and optimism. Much of the latter effect is down to the Lightfoot character, who is wonderfully portrayed and given an intoxicating joie de vivre by a young Jeff Bridges. Bridges is even able to draw out a smile or two from Eastwood as the two embark on a potentially ill-fated road trip. The rivalry between Bridges and George Kennedy, as Eastwood's former bank robbing partner, is among several highlights in this enjoyable yarn.