White Lightning

Threw this on the watchlist on a lark. Sounded like some mindless, simplistic fun. It very much is that, to a fault. Southern sheriff kills a man's brother, man is out for revenge. Very basic plot. No character nuance is to be found here, but to be fair, none is attempted. This is all about car chases and the connective tissue to set up the next one. There's barely even any fistfights or use of guns. To call White Lightning basic is to not do its simplicity justice. Rudimentary would be more descriptive. White Lightning is aware of its low ceiling, and butts right up against it. It has no aspirations towards wit or cleverness, and it's legally obligated to stay away from exploring themes. The one thing I will say to its detriment is that it seems overly afraid of offending people, going for the softest PG it can without being a straight-up Disney movie. The Goonies might have more swearing than this, and the blood is so brightly colored and obviously phony, Dutch Boy paints should be a sponsor. I could feel the movie holding back from going where this should've gone. It didn't need to be a full-on exploitation movie, but this movie is far too sanitized. White Lightning is a perfectly acceptable representation of the redneck and car chase sub-genres that were popular in the 70's, and it is nothing more than that. It's the kind of movie you'd find on an independent UHF station at 3 PM on a Saturday back in the 80's. Ultimately, it's harmless and enjoyable to a point, provided you just want action and no thought.