Well, we all have our substandard work, don’t we?
I have greatly enjoyed all of Taylor Sheridan’s previous writing and directing work which includes the TV Series Yellowstone, and the films Wind River, Sicario, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, and Hell or High Water. So when I saw that he was directing this work which had a similar theme to his other work—Neo-Western and dealing with issues of the American West (here being the fire prone areas of the Rocky Mountains) and mixing it with brute criminal behavior that he has previously portrayed so well…I had high hopes.
Unfortunately, saddled with Angelie Jolie who is completely out of her element here and a terrible script (at least partially Sheridan’s own fault), this is a grossly underwhelming film.
Jolie, who has always looked like she is wearing a wig to me, is supposed to be a female smokejumper extraordinaire here but is waifish in her build, runs like toddler, and exhibits exactly zero physical strength in the role. She is also just a straight up terrible actress here and has a completely stilted chemistry (or lack thereof) with the cast. She has been shoehorned into this role by someone and it shows.
The story itself would have let anyone down, so its not all Jolie’s fault. So little is explained of any of the plot or characters that the viewer has no idea of anyone’s real motivation. The killer’s sent after a small boy who may have some accounting info that implicates someone, or some organization are directed by a nameless governmental “baddie” played by Tyler Perry (who shoehorned himself in here as one of the producers). What the info is? What have these bad people done? No one knows. Jolie has some sort of exgirlfriend relationship with Joe Bernthal’s character (the only one even adequate in their role) but that is glossed over and buried with a single sentence. Lightning strikes with an accuracy that makes you think it has it out for Jolie’s character—first striking her fire tower and then, literally, chasing her down as she crosses a field.
The film ends predictably and without any real resolution or information regarding what just happened. Which is kinda the feeling a viewer comes away with? What did I just watch and why did I bother?
If HBO Max, where this film was put on the same day it appeared in theaters due to the relationship between HBO and Warner Bros., is simply going to be a dumping ground for movies that should have been canned or gone “straight to streaming” as they might say…count me out of paying for it. Skip it and watch Hell or High Water again…