Review of Hell or High Water (2016) by Greatmartin — 18 Aug 2016

"Hell and High Water" is a very 'odd' movie!! For the first 75 minutes you wish it 'would just get on' to where it is going though it does have 1-2 minutes of hilarity supplied by Margaret Bowman as a sassy waiteress who wouldn't take any guff from Jack Nicholson giving his order in "Five Easy Pieces" let alone from Texas Ranger Jeff Bridges! There is also a lot of give and take between Jeff, who will soon retire, and his Mexican-Comanche partner Gil Birmingham plus the bank robber brothers Chris Pine and Ben Foster.

The screenwriter Taylor Sheridan offers sharp dialogue between the various 'couples', including an exchange between another waitress played by Katy Mixon who is flirtatious with Pine and then haughty with Bridges who wants to take her $200 tip as evidence. Where the screenplay goes astray is when it delves into the why of the bank robberies and leaves the clever based dialogue.

The chemistry between older 'black sheep' brother Foster and the 'baby' Pine works from their first appearance to the end and Pine does clean up handsomely! The chemistry between Bridges and Birmingham is just as important between as it is between the brothers and all 4 pay off.

There is no 'love interest' per se but both Bowman and Mixon women steal the movie from the more 'important' roles of the men. After that hour and 15 minutes of the set up the last 27 minutes grabs you and will surprise the most avid movie goer.

"Hell and High Water" is a low keyed Western thriller cowboy movie but that scene with Bowman is sure to remain in your herad long after the movie does.