tippy2k2 tells you what to think; Hell or High Water

[tippy2k2]

Tippy Reviews: Hell or High Water

I had never heard of this movie before it actually came out (and even then, I heard about it because of a Marter review [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/moviesandtv/reviews/cinemarter/17203-Hell-or-High-Water-2016-Heist-Western-Movie-Review#&gid=gallery_6437&pid=1], not because I saw anything about it). That review piqued my interest so much that I decided to go see the movie without seeing so much as a trailer. Good call on Tippy's part!

Hell or High Water follows two different groups; bank robbing brothers Tanner (Ben Foster) and Toby (Chris Pine) Howard and the Texas Rangers Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) and Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham) who are trying to catch said brothers. We watch the Tanner Brothers rob a bank and then we get to watch the grouchy old Rangers roll in and try to figure out what happened and who the mystery bank robbers are. Toby's farm is going to be foreclosed on and the brothers need money to keep that from happening.

An incredibly simple premise that works incredibly well. We get to watch as the career criminal brother Tanner acts during the robbery versus how straight laced Toby acts and they play off each other very well. Toby is reckless and willing to get his hands dirty while Toby wants to stay on schedule and makes sure he gets what he needs to save the farm. Meanwhile, Rangers Hamilton and Parker bicker back and forth like an old married couple while they talk to witnesses and try to piece together where the bank robbers are going to go next.

The main thing that keeps the movie moving so well are all of the actors involved. The two groups make this almost two separate movies and that could have fallen apart real quick if any of the four fell flat but everyone brings their A game plus more here. Bridges and Birmingham especially are wonderful playing off of each other with Bridges playing the jokester to Birminghams straight man. I'd be shocked if no one involved here gets nominated for some awards come Oscar time...

It also helps that they have a great screenplay to work with as the movie is filled with absurd and at times, some pretty dark humor. The movie is serious when it needs to be and still manages to give you a number of laughs in the process. It most certainly is not a comedy but it manages that thin line of mixing the two without undermining the drama with comedy. The director (David Mackenzie) does a sensational job balancing the drama and comedy and dances that line to perfection. There's so much more that I want to say about the drama part but I don't even want to risk accidentally hinting at what happens.

It's been a long while since I've seen a movie that is that effective. Had I not known who the director was, I'd have sworn that this was a Coen Brothers movie (which is actually a pretty good indicator to ask yourself if you'd like this movie; did you like movies like Fargo or No Country for Old Men? If so, this movie is for you).

9.0/10; A movie that comes highly recommended with the blend of drama and laughs. One of the best movies I've seen this year.

Last Review: Sausage Party [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.942632-tippy2k2-tells-you-what-to-think-Sausage-Party]

 

[Hawki]

Hmm...

A lot of this I agree with, though I'd probably give it a 7.5/10, maybe an 8 if rounding up. There weren't that many laughs in the film for me. A few, true, but the movie is far too somber for that. The characters are fine, but what was the selling point for me was the cinamatography, atmosphere, and themes. I could see this getting in my top 10 at least.

 

[tippy2k2]

Hmm...

A lot of this I agree with, though I'd probably give it a 7.5/10, maybe an 8 if rounding up. There weren't that many laughs in the film for me. A few, true, but the movie is far too somber for that. The characters are fine, but what was the selling point for me was the cinamatography, atmosphere, and themes. I could see this getting in my top 10 at least.

7.5 (or 8 if you're being generous) and it's the top 10 (at least)!?!?

How harsh is your number system?

As for the humor...

Spoiler

I thought that the humor did an excellent job as the vast majority of the film was light hearted and fun. Most of the humor wasn't gut laughs but a lot of chuckle worthiness the entire film. Then the gut punch in the middle of a freaking joke as Parker takes a bullet to the God damn head. My jaw put a hole in the floor with how quickly it dropped...

 

[Hawki]

Hmm...

A lot of this I agree with, though I'd probably give it a 7.5/10, maybe an 8 if rounding up. There weren't that many laughs in the film for me. A few, true, but the movie is far too somber for that. The characters are fine, but what was the selling point for me was the cinamatography, atmosphere, and themes. I could see this getting in my top 10 at least.

7.5 (or 8 if you're being generous) and it's the top 10 (at least)!?!?

How harsh is your number system?

Eh, not that harsh. The number system I use most of the time is out of five, where:

1/5 = Terrible
2/5 = Bad
3/5 = Average
4/5 = Good
5/5 = Excellent

Most films usually get an "average" or "good" stamp, Hell or High Water being an example of the latter. So, of the films I've seen this year, two have a stamp of "excellent" (Zootopia, Eye in the Sky), six have a stamp of "bad" (Angry Birds Movie, The Huntsman: Winter's War, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Batman v Superman, The Wait, Gods of Egypt), and the rest fall into the average-good range. So, a top 10 list would have 8 "good" films with the two "excellent" ones to take the #2 and 1 spots.

Thankfully, haven't seen any truly terrible films this year, though Angry Birds certainly pushed it.

Edit: As for the humor, yeah, I didn't laugh that much. I'm not criticizing the film for that, I just didn't get the sense it was trying to be humorous, and a lot of the humor is low-key (e.g. the ribbing between Marcus and Alberto). For instance, when Ben Foster's character is dropped, I saw it as being more dark humour, even tragic. He's dead, after killing three people, who are dropped without any fanfare. He's dead, and the world won't care. It's not quite nihilism, but there's a sense of pointlessness to the deaths that occur (in a good way, narrative-wise).