Hell or High Water (2016)
93%RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 4 Oscars
47 wins & 175 nominations total
Hell or High Water offers a solidly crafted, well-acted Western heist thriller that eschews mindless gunplay in favor of confident pacing and full-bodied characters.
If you’re looking for a movie that’s part Western, part heist, and all-around entertaining, then Hell or High Water is the flick for you. With a cast that includes Chris Pine, Ben Foster, and Jeff Bridges, this movie is a modern take on the classic Western genre. But instead of horses, we’ve got pick-up trucks, and instead of robbing banks, the banks are the robbers. It’s a clever twist that makes for a thrilling ride, and the performances are top-notch. So saddle up and get ready for a wild ride through the heart of Texas.
Production Company(ies)
Castle Rock Entertainment,
Distributor
CBS Films, Lionsgate Films
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Clovis, New Mexico, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for some strong violence, language throughout and brief sexuality
Year of Release
2016
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 37m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 19, 2016 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 22, 2016
Genre(s)
Western/Action
Keyword(s)
Western, Action, R, Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Gil Birmingham, Marin Ireland, Katy Mixon, directed by David Mackenzie, written by Taylor Sheridan, produced by Sidney Kimmel, Peter Berg, Carla Hacken, Julie Yorn, reviewed by Eric Kohn, Donald Clarke, John Wenzel, Dwight Brown, Sandra Hall, Paul Byrnes, Brian Eggert, Mark Jackson, Tim Appelo, Matthew Rozsa, Hosea Rupprecht, starring Jeff Bridges as Sheriff Marcus Hamilton, Chris Pine as Toby, Ben Foster as Tanner, Gil Birmingham as Alberto Parker, Marin Ireland as Debbie, Katy Mixon as Jenny Ann, 97% Tomatometer, 88% Audience Score, $27.0M Box Office, Language Throughout, Brief Sexuality, Some Strong Violence, CBS Films, Lionsgate Films, Scope (2.35:1) Aspect Ratio, Toby is a divorced father, Tanner is an ex-convict, they plan a series of heists against the bank, Marcus is a Texas Ranger, they must prepare for a showdown with a crafty lawman
Worldwide gross: $37,999,675
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $46,834,545
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,367
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 5,107,366
US/Canada gross: $27,007,844
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $33,287,129
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,242
US/Canada opening weekend: $621,329
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $765,787
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,311
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $12,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $14,789,983
Production budget ranking: 1,520
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $7,964,406
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $24,080,156
ROI to date (est.): 106%
ROI ranking: 913
Chris Pine – Toby
Ben Foster – Tanner
Gil Birmingham – Alberto Parker
Marin Ireland – Debbie
Katy Mixon – Jenny Ann
Director – David Mackenzie
Producer – Sidney Kimmel, Peter Berg, Carla Hacken, Julie Yorn
Writer – Taylor Sheridan
Director(s)
David Mackenzie
Writer(s)
Taylor Sheridan
Producer(s)
Sidney Kimmel, Peter Berg, Carla Hacken, Julie Yorn
Film Festivals
Cannes
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 4 Oscars
47 wins & 175 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (287) | Top Critics (74) | Fresh (277) | Rotten (10)
Just as it taps into a dying corner of American society, Hell or High Water resurrects the power of western mayhem done right.
December 31, 2016 | Rating: B+
Eric Kohn
indieWire
TOP CRITIC
We will never get another Howard Hawks or Raoul Walsh, but, every now and then, we see a film that pays homage to their spirit.
December 28, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
Donald Clarke
Irish Times
TOP CRITIC
This neo-Western works splendidly as a self-contained tale of loyalty, loss and redemption, with polished turns from a smoldering Chris Pine and spunky Ben Foster.
December 14, 2016 | Rating: 3/4
John Wenzel
Denver Post
TOP CRITIC
This classic, thoughtful, and evocative storytelling lets audiences have a guilty pleasure watching two wretches get payback on a banking system that’s ripping off old ladies.
November 8, 2016
Dwight Brown
National Newspaper Publishers Association
TOP CRITIC
Hell or High Water is a contemporary western with pick-up trucks instead of horses. But some things never change.
October 28, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
There’s not a moment out of place, not a shot that stays too long. If [David McKenzie] makes a better film in his career, he’ll be lucky.
October 28, 2016 | Rating: 4.5/5
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
Mackenzie describes his film’s characters with richness and depth, and each is afforded gradations by both the screenplay and performances.
April 11, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Robbing banks was very 1800s; robbing by banks was very 2010s. Robbing robber banks in “Hell or Highwater” makes it a post-Occupy Neo-Western. Pine, Foster, and Bridges kill it. Apropos again in 2022, with rumors of account-freezing by banks circulating.
February 25, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/5
Mark Jackson
Epoch Times
Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone) wrote the perfect flick for Western-loving grownups.
January 13, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Tim Appelo
AARP Movies for Grownups
It’s a neat inversion of the traditional Old West tale of robbers hitting up banks: In this one, the banks are the robbers.
December 20, 2021
Matthew Rozsa
Good Men Project
Hell or High Water offers a commentary on how harmful our profit-driven economy can be and to what lengths people will go to make sure their families have a secure financial future.
August 26, 2021
Hosea Rupprecht
Pauline Center for Media Studies
It can work well in a film like True Grit, but here, in the absence of great material, it can seem like a surface-level attempt to get something out of a very one-note character.
April 13, 2021
Ian Brill
Battleship Pretension…
Plot
In Texas, after the death of his mother, the unemployed oil and gas worker Toby Howard is losing his ranch to the Texas Midlands Bank. Toby is divorced from his wife who lives with their two sons. When his brother Tanner Howard is released from the prison, they team up to rob agencies of the Texas Midlands Bank to raise money to pay the loan so that Toby may leave the real estate to his sons. Meanwhile the Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton who is near retirement and his Native American-descendant partner Alberto Parker try to anticipate the next move of the thieves.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Jeff Bridges steals the show as Sheriff Marcus Hamilton.
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