Hell or High Water hits hard, a movie review.

September 5, 2016, at 5:04 p.m.

Hell or High Water is a Neo-western film that follows two brothers who plan a series of bank robberies to save their family farm and stars Chris Pine, Ben Foster, and Jeff Bridges. Debuting at the 69th Cannes Film Festival, it had a limited release across the USA. Critical acclaim and strong box office sales prompted an expanded release in August of 2016. Rotten Tomatoes ranked the film 98 percent, with 141 reviews.

Hell or High Water Review

I had high expectations for this movie. Only reading a few lines of text about the description before going into the Isis Theater in Aspen, Colorado. What caught my attention immediately was the resemblance to No Country for Old Men. A long-time Cormac McCarthy reader, I wondered if Hell or High Water was inspired by the artwork and demeanor of the violent Texas border town story.

Another name attached to Hell or High Water that piqued my interest was Peter Berg. He produced the film and helped to finance it. Berg seems to have dialed in a formula for testosterone-fueled films that do well at the box office. Hot off Lone Survivor and with Deep Water Horizon set to release on September 30, 2016, Berg’s involvement with Hell or High Water seems promising.

MILD SPOILERS AHEAD

Hell or High Water delivers on all fronts. If word of mouth is the best praise, as soon as I walked out of the theater I texted two of my best friends and called my father. I implored them to watch this movie as soon as they could. It was the total package. The story was compelling and interesting. Luscious cinematography and a film appropriate soundtrack provided the indie film vibe. Rich and likable characters made this an easy movie to watch.

By “likable characters” I don’t mean they did not have their flaws. In alternating scenes the younger, more responsible of the two brothers, Toby (Chris Pine), often swears at his brother. Then he is forgiving and thoughtful in the next. The soon-to-retire Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) has more racist and off color insults for his partner than not.

Yet, you can sense in each of these cases the dialogue is said with a brotherly love behind it. How do guys often express emotion towards each other? They punch you in the shoulder and make fun of your Achilles heel.

A near perfect film, there was only one glaring continuity mistake at the end. I know am being extremely nit-picky, but it had to do with the positioning of one of the weapons used by the brothers.

The filmmakers had gone out of the way to show that one of the brothers had moved his weapon from an offensive to neutral position. Then in the immediate shot afterwards, he was at arms again. It just seemed kind of sloppy after the wild ride that had proceeded it.

Final Thoughts

This film is by far one of the best movies released in 2016. While the story is closed at the end of the movie (no sequels), it leaves the viewer with a sense that there is more to come. There was a question that bugged me at the end of the movie.

I can’t fully disclose this question without divulging important plot details, but it surrounded Ranger Hamilton and if his actions were within his characters scope of reason. Would he have really acted the way he did?

Expect some big time awards to come out of this. Go see this movie. Now.

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