Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

SpunkySelfTwitter It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Maleeha Vincent It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

asmith1420-560-11243 I've lived in Arkansas for a while and I always enjoy watching this Movie. My cousin Susie is one of the unwedded Mother's in the movie! She was an extra! She has a pic of Burt Holding her in his arms! This movie is as southern as iced tea and dirt roads in the summertime!

headly66 After a promising start and a car chase almost nothing happens through a huge portion of the movie, they drive around, Burt talks to people for what seems like meaningless conversations, he uses his real name, everyone seems to know he's working for the feds, he openly writes notes in a small book, there is this real annoying woman he is screwing behind his buddy's back, etc, etc. Some pretty bad acting, amateur actors, bad fighting, bad lighting, bad direction and a horrible script. Another dull car chase and then the end.One of Burt's worse movies. Not a lot of effort was put into this.

Michael_Elliott White Lightning (1973) *** (out of 4) Gator McKlusky (Burt Reynolds) has a year to go in prison when he gets word that his younger brother was murdered. It turns out the crooked Sheriff (Ned Beatty) of their small town killed him so now Gator agrees to work with the Federal government to bring down some illegal moonshine. Gator's real plan to seek vengeance.WHITE LIGHTNING was a hit with fans and most critics when it was released and it helped keep steam in the Reynolds train that was burning pretty bright thanks to DELIVERANCE. This here is another one of those "good ol' boys" type of films where the South is shown as a dirty and corrupt place but to the rescue is a good looking and fun-nature man who knows how to drive really fast and knows how to make it with all the pretty ladies.If you're looking for ground-breaking entertainment then you're not going to find it here but WHITE LIGHTNING does offer some good laughs, some nice car chases and of course Reynolds doing what he does best. It's always fun watching these early performances by Reynolds because you can tell he's having a lot of fun and he certainly has no trouble bringing that charm across. I'm sure the ladies would say it was his looks. The guys would say it was his attitude. Perhaps both would agree that the legendary laugh is what did it.Whatever the reason Reynolds is certainly a lot of fun here playing the good guy and Beatty gets to really have fun playing the creep. There's no question that the two of them worked magic when together. We also get a nice supporting cast here including Bo Hopkins, Matt Clark, Jennifer Billingsley as the love interest and R.G. Armstrong as one of the big moonshiners. The film offers up a great mix of comedy and action and there's no question that the car chases are its main entertainment. There are a lot of wrecks and crashes and all of this was perfectly captured and it makes for a pretty entertaining slice of Hollywood's thoughts of what the South was.

clint2442000 They certainly don't make movies like this anymore. Likable characters, good story, a very charismatic Burt Reynolds. As for the action, I would take well-filmed, exciting car chase and action sequences as seen in White Lightning over CGI special effects in today's films any day! Rural locations in the South are also used to great effect. You can almost feel the cold water of the swamp in a great opening sequence, the ears of corn bouncing off the windshield as Reynolds drives the souped-up Ford through a cornfield, and the dust coming off the tires. As also observed by movie critic Roger Ebert, today's special effects- laden movies have forgotten how to make the location of the story, the land, a character in itself. After seeing this film at a drive-in theater around 1975, White Lighting was a "bad influence" on a kid as I was in rural Wisconsin who had just gotten his driving license. I would discreetly take the parent's car and my friends out on dusty, dirt roads in the countryside to execute "some Burt Reynolds style" driving. In addition, some parts of the movie are even touching. These include when Reynolds meets his parents for the first time after spending time in prison. And when Reynolds prior to the big chase sequence at the end proclaims his confusion to a young woman at the "Home For Young Mothers" as to why his brother who tried to make something of himself was murdered while he "had not done a damn good thing" his entire life. Enough of my ramblings. In summary, a movie with a number of added dimensions to put it far above and beyond a standard action movie. A pure classic.