I’m surprised that Rolling Thunder has the following it does. It’s not good enough to be a classic and not bad enough to be a cult classic. But it did have potential, yet somewhere along the way someone dropped the ball.
It’s based on an original story by Paul Schrader. While the final product does have many of the markings of a Schrader-written feature (like the shooting up of a brothel during the film’s climax), it seems that many of its most interesting elements were stripped away.
William Devane plays a released Vietnam POW whose hometown rewards him with a valuable coin collection. A group of bandits steal the collection, killing his wife and child and maiming his hand in the process. Armed with his new hook hand, Devane enlists the help of friend Tommy Lee Jones to seek revenge.
It sounds like pretty standard 70s grit in the same vein as Death Wish, Dirty Harry, etc. And for the most part, it is. Thankfully, the Schrader-influenced elements that survive slightly elevate the film above that genre. Unfortunately, because the filmmakers decided to dial back on the gore and melodrama, Rolling Thunder’s impact is entirely negated.
And after 38 seconds of research, I came across the interesting tidbit on IMDB:
Goddamn, what a movie that would have been. Unfortunately the studio didn’t have the balls to do that kind of picture so we’re stuck with something that’s unfulfilling.
William Devane is a respectable actor and I’m sure his friends would say he’s a nice guy. But he was miscast in this part. From the moment we see him, he doesn’t come across as a guy that’s been scarred from years of torture. He feels a little bit too cool for that.
But you know who would have been perfect for the role?
Co-star Tommy Lee Jones.
I’m just gonna say it, Jones was fine AF in the 70s. And he doesn’t emote too much in his performance. He doesn’t have to. From the moment we’re introduced to him, we know exactly what he’s feeling. Had Schrader been able to make the picture he wanted, Tommy Lee Jones would have made the perfect white trash version of Travis Bickle.
Additionally, there’s no payoff with many of the Schraderian elements. At one point, Devane explains that he learned to love torture because that’s how “you beat your enemies” (paraphrasing). That came in handy when his home was invaded, but this attempt at a theme was never fully established.
Plus, the protagonist was given a hook hand. You’d think that that device would play a larger role in the story, but only twice does Devane use it against his enemies. I mean what the fuck? You’re given a hook for a hand. Kill everybody with it!
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