Bandidos Yanquis

Rating: Null/10 (12 September 2009)

George Roy Hill's extremely famous 1969 film, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (with Paul Newman as Butch and Robert Redford as the Sundance Kid), wasn't exactly what I was expecting. It ain't a really great western or one of the best films of its year overrated is the word but also one more: entertaining.
"Butch and Sundance" is a really fast-paced Best Picture nominee (it was also the 1969 top grossing film in the US, by the way) with good if not extremely likable two main characters. I must say that in the end I liked the film (plus I was very glad to finally see it, of course considering it is considered a true classic) but: a) I will not watch it again (probably never again), and b) I really, really hated some parts of it.
Let's see, the runtime marks almost 30 minutes and pretty much I was like "so far everything is really good": cool introductions to our main guys, in sepia, great fun with Butch and his replacement as the leader of the gang ("Harvey thought of that?"), the first success with the Flyer and the ladies.
The film disappoints in the same way Butch and Sundance would disappoint some of their admirers. I will try to explain this: like I just said the first minutes of the film are just about fine since basically we are all right with the legends. Certainly is the fact that, for instance, the legendary Sundance doesn't know how to swim what may cause to those that are even sort of glad when they are being robbed by the legends some laughs. We don't really mind since of course the legend is a thing and the reality is another thing but we do mind when the film goes in a direction that is like a "f*** you" to the tone of most of the film.
And that different direction sometimes works in Bolivia but the bicycle scene with Butch and Etta (this young woman that is played by Katherine Ross and that is the love of the Sundance Kid but that also has a very close relation with Butch) is, well and you may like the song, that's another thing (I first heard it on the soundtrack of Forrest Gump and I do like it, it's not a favourite but it's kind of nice) but anyway, soon after the surprising bicycle riding moment we have again our western with the legends being tested, with the legends worried. And Bolivia is sort of strange, pretty much it works since when it's a comedy I laughed (even sometimes legends like Butch and the Sundance Kid could not even let the respective people know they were committing a robbery!) and it works having the beginning of the legend of the bandidos Yanquis (again an annoying music part though).
It's fun but also I'm a bit disappointednevertheless a truly magnificent ending!