‘Hell or High Water’…not on my radar to be honest, but had time for it over the holiday weekend, and it’s a nice, small film.  The Cops vs. Robbers elements will draw natural comparisons to ‘Heat’ and especially ‘No Country for Old Men’; in both cases that would be unfair to this movie.  Different scope, different focus.

My old scene partner Chris Pine is the central character, who along with Ben Foster plays a pair of brothers who rob small town Texas banks with the intention of paying off the loan on their deceased mother’s ranch.  Jeff Bridges plays the Texas Ranger given the task of first tracking their crimes and then anticipating their next move (target).

Even though (very ironically) none of the film was shot in Texas, the setting is what sets this film apart.  There are a few scene stealing performances by actors who drive home the theme of this movie (banks/corporations are driving these people off the land they’ve called home for generations, but they’re really just the latest group to push ‘natives’ off this land…)  There are a few other flourishes I want reveal that are nice touches, although I will say Jeff Bridges playing the ‘old cowpoke’ guy…he’s great at it, but it really amuses me the more times he does it.

Final verdict, if the actors or the setting are of interest to you, worth checking out.