Hell or High Water

Early bird gets the worm.

From the British director of 'Starred Up' fame, it was like another 'The Place Beyond the Pines'. Feels like a modern western kind, because of where this story takes place, I mean Texas. There's no digital world like phones, computers et cetera, just an old fashioned storytelling. This is the story of two brothers and their series of bank robbery job. They are doing it for a reason, but on the other end, two cops make their effort to find who they are and nab them red handed. So when they meet, that's where the story gets to its end part.

It has a strong opening, then slows down. Actually, it was approached like a classic crime film, which mean no high-tech. The story was a one liner, but the events in th...

A strong neo-Western that gets everything right, with good pacing, a simple but effective screenplay, great cinematography, sneaky humor and a solid cast.

8/10

The first ten minutes of this film did not inspire me. Chris Pine ("Toby") and brother "Howard" (Ben Foster) rob some small town banks and attract the attention of the soon to retire, curmudgeonly Jeff Bridges as Texas ranger ("Hamilton"). Well, as it pans, it turns out much better than I had expected: the characterisations are strong; the pace and writing keep it interesting and although the story is riddled with holes and inconsistencies the thing flows along well as the ranger homes in on his increasingly reckless quarry. Bridges' persona is a little similar to his "True Grit" (2010) but Gil Birmingham plays a good foil as his cohort ("Alberto") and the four create quite a lively and enjoyable cat-and-mouse action adventure that had me u...