Structurally, Gator is a bit of a mess, largely because of the civilizing and romantic influence Reynolds has brought to the randy domain of the redneck action film.

It never quite connects, even though a summary of its key scenes is like a laundry list of action-'n'-romance cliches.

...Live and Let Die-style speedboat chases are added to the mix, and both films offer up plenty of entertainment without too much stunt-man bonhomie that weakened some of Reynolds’ later work...

The Kentucky fried humor doesn’t usually work, but country music star Jerry Reed is surprisingly good as the particularly sleazy villain.