Let me get a very minor but aggravating nitpick out of the way before I explain what I thought about Hal Needham's Smokey and the Bandit: the ADR work was absolutely ATROCIOUS. Alright, now that I have that out of my system...what did I think of the film? Well, I thought it was a lot of fun. I must admit that I was slightly underwhelmed by it, though. Knowing Needham's reputation as a director and stuntman, I expected Smokey and the Bandit to be a mile-a-minute chase movie crammed full of outrageous stunts. Well, the film certainly contains a lot of chases. And there is some great stunt-work. But the film is not afraid to slow things down (metaphorically, of course) and give its characters, Burt Reynolds and Sally Field in particular, room to breathe and develop. My favorite part of the movie was all of the random people who go out of their way to help the Bandit and thwart the police officers chasing them. It speaks to a delightful "brotherhood-of-the-road," a common consciousness that transcends class, race, and gender all in the pursuit of sticking it to the Man. Brings a tear to my eye, really.
7/10
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