Robert Redford has had probably one of the best careers in film as both an actor and a director. He has truly created iconic characters and has impact on film that I’ve talked about before in my retrospective of his career. So if you read that, you already know that I loved Redford’s final performance in The Old Man and the Gun. But there is so much more to love about the film than just its lead’s performance.

It actually has plenty of seasoned actors, like Sissy Spacek and Danny Glover, that really round out the film and have great moments. Spacek and Redford have great romantic chemistry and it felt refreshing to see the growing relationship of an older couple on-screen. Everything felt natural between the rest cast and Redford and it all leads to satisfying moments throughout. Not to mention, Casey Affleck brings a fun and curious personality to Detective Hunt as he chases down Redford’s Forest Tucker.

There’s a great sense of realism throughout the film and it tells its mostly real story in a very genuine way. There’s great car chases and creative planning amongst the excellent dialogue. It makes the film such an enjoyable ride from start to finish and it’s easily one of the most relaxing film to see in theaters.

What’s great about the film is honestly how simple it is. The plot of a robber running from a determined cop has been done time and time again. But even keeping this in mind, The Old Man and the Gun still finds a way to use this simple thread to create a fresh and dynamic story. Tucker’s journey is quite interesting and it’s easy to fall in love with his charisma for what he does.

But this is all thanks to Redford’s top-notch performance as he really captures Tucker’s simple enjoyment of robbing banks and his careful thinking and confidence. Tucker isn’t the kind of person to just hurt innocent people and the money doesn’t matter to him, he just loves the chase of being a bank robber and this is excellently captured through Redford’s performance.

The Old Man and the Gun is truly a full circle performance for Redford, starting with The Sundance Kid and ending with Forest Tucker, and it surely doesn’t disappoint. It’s really a great film as whole, but with it being Redford’s last performance, it truly makes the film iconic. It’s sad to see Redford go, but like Tucker, when it was all over it feels great to know that he was probably smiling.

Watch the trailer here: