Hell or High Water

And the Oscar for non-stop pure redneck neo-western goes to? David Mackenzie, who has handled an uninteresting material decently, creating a swaggering retro one-off with a boisterous Jeff Bridges the way we like him and a wacky Ben Foster the way we absolutely love him. Oddly enough, it also works quite well as an interesting probe amongst working-class Midwesterners. It doesn’t have any bigger ambitions, but it’s good for a Saturday siesta. (19/11/2016)

A decent old school robbery crime drama that builds mainly on a desert atmosphere and a trio of great actors. Ben Foster is classically nutty, Chris Pine is excellent as usual, he's been picking decent films lately, and Jeff Bridges was perfect for the role of the Texas sheriff. I wasn't bored for a moment, it's just a pity that there is no gore at all, which would have been useful here, otherwise great. 80% (22/11/2016)

A pure post-western that doesn't remember the old days fondly, but laments the misery of the present, which doesn't favor cowboys. It’s a wistful tale from the borderlands that reigns in its casting and pure direction. However, the theatrical standing on the porch with a beer in your hand and philosophy on your lips is perhaps too much at times. (14/01/2017)

Texas has got something about it. The Southern atmosphere drips from each shot. McCarthy’s redneck poeticism engulfs you and Cave and Ellis have the lion´s share in this. A story about two brothers and their plan to overcome adversity embodied in bank clerks. Bridges’ lines are perfect, Foster is nicely crazy, Pine intentionally minimalistic. A modern western at its best. Sometimes even a blind pig can find its way to the trough. (04/12/2016)

The film had a great theme, a good cast, a decent atmosphere, and finally some politically incorrect humor. I had fun, but... everything I just mentioned was spoiled by the ridiculously slow pacing. If you want to use long shots of the landscape, don’t pick Texas where everything looks the same. I was strongly surprised by the lack of negative characters. Even the lawyer was a good guy, so the mortgage guy was left to pick up the slack. What I liked was the rather unexpected ending. 3*+ (08/07/2018)