Review of Hell or High Water (2016) by Brandon W — 27 Dec 2016

Hell or High Water is directed by David Mackenzie, and it stars Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, and Ben Foster in a neo-western about Brothers that rob banks for personal reasons, and the sheriff with his partner are going after them, trying to see what the next bank they're going to rob.

Of all the films that I rented, this is the one that I'm most curious about as people praised the heck out of this film which is interesting knowing the fact that it's sort of a western, and there's not much you can do with them.

So with that instead, this is honestly one of the best films of 2016. Jeff Bridges always give great performances, and even if he's putting in his gruff voice, he does a good job of doing that. Chris Pine is great in it, and Ben Foster is completely unrecognizable as he plays a totally different character then what I usually see him in, and he's also going all out from this that I think he might get nominated for an Oscar.

The plot is really good that I'm surprised that this isn't based on any adaptation as it felt like something from Cormac McCarthy's work. The writing by Taylor Sheridan is very well-written that I was interested for the fact that the script was actually in the Black List years ago, and seeing that Sicario did very-well, even this script was well-written back then.

The cinematography is solid, and the score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis sticks out pretty well to the film. The pacing is slow, but it kept me interested with the characters that you really care about, from the robbers to the sheriffs, and it gets more interesting when it gets to the climax.

It does have a sense of humor when Jeff Bridges's character makes fun of his partner, and it's always in good fun. Hell or High Water is a smartly crafted film that I'm glad it's getting the recognition that it deserves.