Review of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) by John E — 07 Nov 2010

A very good western that is not quite so deserving of all its praise but still has a lot going for it. Whoever cast the two leads should have gotten a hefty raise because Newman and Redford don't seem as if they're working at all.

Their chemistry is effortless and fluid, helped along by the finely tuned, goofy yet witty screenplay (the highlight of the movie's production). My problem is with the story construction; we are literally plopped into the middle of things and enter with no real context of the characters' dynamics and relationships.

We pick this up as we go, but the lack of backstory was somewhat troubling to me. The ending scene is awesome, but some scenes feel as if they could have done with some tightening up. It's strange, the film feels like it could be shorter, yet could benefit with the addition of material that tells us more about these characters.