White Lightning was a vehicle for Burt Reynolds that was made for movie fans south of the Mason Dixon line. It ended up being a hit everywhere setting up Burt to do a bunch of "Good ole' boy" movies into the next decade. Burt is Gator, a convict doing time for running shine. When his straight laced brother is murdered by a corrupt sheriff, he makes a deal with the government to gain evidence to bring him down. Gator has no intention of doing that and over the course of the film sets out to get his revenge on the sheriff(Warren Beatty). Warren Beatty is great as villain opposite Burt. The locations of the film are great and very authentic, you can feel the humidity and southern feel of the film. This was well put together and Burt is up for the task as leading man and antihero. He is very cool per usual, but he has a darkness and anger to his character. The support cast is very good and is packed with action, car crashes and fights. Even though, this is pre mustache Burt, Gator is still a lady killer and drives those southern belles wild. White Lightning has a bit of a modern western feel, just add a swampy background and some car chases..
Review of White Lightning
