A two-time loser like Gator McKlusky (Burt Reynolds) will do anything to avoid a third strike and a long prison stint. So when a big city revenuer asks for Gator's help, what choice does he have? Gator's mission is to get the goods on Bama McCall (Jerry Reed), the nasty crime boss of a neighboring county. Gator gets something else he hadn't counted on, however, when he falls for television reporter Aggie Maybank (Lauren Hutton). Can he get the girl and the goon?As is the case with most sequels, Gator is a vastly inferior movie to its predecessor, White Lightning. Everything that made that movie so good and so memorable is missing from Gator. While there are a few good moments like the opening boat chase, the movie doesn't have the same gritty feel to it that characterized White Lightning. Gator trades much of the action of White Lightning for a tired, dull romance between Reynolds and Hutton. Not only isn't it believable (especially if you know the Gator character from the first movie), but the outcome of the relationship is terribly predictable. "Sappy" and Gator McKlusky just shouldn't be used together.But the most offensive part of Gator is Burt Reynolds. In White Lightning, he played it straight. From my review of White Lightning, "One of the coolest things about White Lightning is that it presents Burt Reynolds as an actor at the top of his game. This was a Burt Reynolds who seemed to actually care about the final product and not just yucking it up with his buddies on screen." In Gator, far too often Reynolds reverts to the clown he would become in movies like Smokey and the Bandit and Cannonball Run. That laugh of his just grates on my nerves. There are times in Gator when Reynolds and Reed are on screen together that I swear it's like a test run for Smokey and the Bandit. And it's not surprising to see Hal Needham's name in the credits as Second Unit Director.Overall, Gator is a huge disappointment. I'm being generous with my 3/10 rating.

I tell you, I've seen a lot of movies in my day, and none of them holds up as well over the years as Gator. Sure, you might say I'm biased since I was the president of the Burt Reynolds fan club high school AND the treasurer of the Jerry Reed Fan Club. But still, you can't deny it - Reynolds kicks A**! But anyway, back to the movie... So it was back in the day when I used to play college basketball in Georgia. The whole team used to go to class in our sweaty gym clothes, if we ever went to class - but that's another story! The part where Gator sticks Bammy McCaul's head in the dumpster is great! And Lauren Hutton was so HOT! Anyway, we were all at one guy's house after a big game, drinking non-alcoholic beer, and we popped in my favorite movie of all time (no, not Stroker Ace) that's right GATOR! Anyway, we just started watching it, and I remember this one guy named steve who always wore a skirt for some reason was complaining about something to do with a translation of Camus, but anyway, we're watching the movie and the pizza guy comes to the door - and who's standing there with a pizza in his hand? Why BURT REYNOLDS! Now I knew he was from Georgia, just like me, but what I didn't know was what a big fan he was of the team! Well, I was floored, I tell you. SO we invited him in, and we all sat around drinking non-alcoholic beer, and he told us all about his favorite parts of making Gator, especially when he stuck Bammy McCaull in the dumpster. Its so funny because its true! Anyway, after the movie one of my teammates found a spare sweaty team uniform and gave it to Burt. It was one of the best times of my life, and that's why I will always love GATOR!

Gator, the sequel to White Lightning was a lot more intense that the first. Both dealt with Gator battling corrupt officials, but this one deals with him battling his best friend. Though prison life didn't seem to faze him too much, but a sense of moral was put into this movie as well as his sense of charm. Anyone can find a person more annoying than Gator himself. At least it shows that temptation isn't Gator's cup of tea, or whiskey that is! At the end, the question for Gator is, "what's next?" Lauren Hutton was great at having her shirt charmed off, and Alice Ghostley of Bewitched fame did well. I really enjoyed it. 4 out of 5 stars.

I'm a huge fan of Burt Reynolds. The man just won't go down, no matter what odds are stacked against him. People can say what they want about him, he's certainly no quitter and he usually comes out on top. He's been a hero of mine for most of my life and I've grown up loving his movies. Did anyone ever see the good ole boy flick "White Lightning"? Well this is the sequel. While this might be a strange sequel, I can understand why it is so different from the first. First off, this was made mostly for the drive-in crowd who may not have caught "White Lightning". This allowed the sequel to be a bit looser, where it didn't have to deal too much with what happened in "Lightning". Basically, what you're getting is a a continuation of the Gator McClusky character.Here's a quickie on the plot: Swamp rat, Gator McClusky is living the life after just being released from the State Penn. He's currently spending his days moonshining with the old man, when the feds come to him with a proposition. Infiltrate a group led by childhood friend, Bama McCall (Jerry Reed), get enough evidence to bust him, or go back to prison for making moonshine. It's a hard choice. Double cross a lifelong friend or go back to prison and lose custody of your daughter. Needless to say, Gator goes with option A and eventually, all hell will break loose.This was Burt's first shot at directing and, for the most part, he does okay. I have a few quibbles though. This is a PG-rated flick that was most-likely marketed as a comedy. There is plenty of comedy, in fact, from watching the first ten-minutes, you're going to think this is "Smokey and the Bandit" done in the swamps with Jack Weston playing a New York Smokey. There are a lot of laughs in this film and almost all of the characters are likeable. So this leads to my big bitch: Why in the HELL did everything go from lighthearted to cold and violent in the last act? Why did everything have to go down-hill in such a hurry? Maybe it's because the film spends too long meandering in pointless situations and then, when time comes for something significant, it happens lightning-quick. That is why I had such a hard time believing Jerry Reed as the bad guy. His performance was top notch but the film's pacing makes him go from good buddy, to mean, crooked, bad ass way too quickly. Maybe I'm being a bit harsh, but it's all very cofusing. Maybe, had the film been edited and trimmed a bit better, all of this would have been a bit more believable and things would have ran more smoothly. But being as it is, the whole thing has a very truncated feel. Watch it and you'll see what I mean. I'm giving this film a 7/10 because, despite it's flaws, it's a hell of a lot of fun and Burt gives the kind of performance that you've come to know and love. "Gator" is definitely a good movie, once you get past it's faults. It's a real shame that movies with this kind of theme aren't made anymore.