Review of Butch and Sundance: The Early Days

Five years after George Roy Hill's classic buddy-movie western Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, the director and stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford tried to replicate the magic with The Sting. Whilst the film was a major hit, earning seven academy awards, the screen time in which both stars appeared was very limited. With The Early Days, Richard Lester took a different approach to follow on the success of the original film by making this hugely entertaining, perfectly cast prequel. Not only do Tom Berenger and William Katt actually look like Newman and Redford, they share a great chemistry that matches the original duo perfectly. Helped along by a fabulous score, this film is a rollicking ride that also has a great supporting cast that includes Peter Weller, Christopher Lloyd, Brian Dennehy and Vincent Schiavelli in a small part. An exceptionally fun and very worthy progenitor to the original classic.

5/5