To state the obvious, there's nothing here that's either deep, meaningful or thought-provoking - which is fine, because that's clearly the intent of the movie. It's more or less an hour and a half of a non- stop car chase as a couple of good old boys (Burt Reynolds and Jerry Reed) are pursued across four states by a red neck Texas sheriff (Jackie Gleason.) Bandit and Snowman (Reynolds & Reed) are trying to win a ton of money by transporting 400 cases of Coors illegally from Texarkana to Atlanta in no more than 28 hours. Bandit's in a black Trans-Am to throw the police off the trail and Snowman's driving the big rig. Along the way Bandit picks up Carrie (Sally Field) - a bride running away from her wedding to the son of Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Gleason), who sets himself to the task of tracking her down.
It's a wild ride. It's fun and enjoyable. The cast is likable and they all work well together and there's absolutely no thought required. You just have to watch as Bandit causes havoc for Justice and among countless local cops encountered along the way.
It's the very mindlessness of this movie that's both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. The never-ending chases are wild and fun for a while - but to me, they run out of steam long before the hour and a half run time of the movie. By about half way through it's actually starting to get a bit tiresome just because there's nowhere for this movie to really go; there's no particular plot or story. It's just chase, chase, chase. Interesting orientation to trucker CB lingo though! (5/10)
It's a wild ride. It's fun and enjoyable. The cast is likable and they all work well together and there's absolutely no thought required. You just have to watch as Bandit causes havoc for Justice and among countless local cops encountered along the way.
It's the very mindlessness of this movie that's both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. The never-ending chases are wild and fun for a while - but to me, they run out of steam long before the hour and a half run time of the movie. By about half way through it's actually starting to get a bit tiresome just because there's nowhere for this movie to really go; there's no particular plot or story. It's just chase, chase, chase. Interesting orientation to trucker CB lingo though! (5/10)