Westerns aren’t really having a renaissance, as such, because that would suggest they went away in the first place. They might disappear over the horizon every now and again, particularly when Hollywood decides audiences have moved on, but eventually someone gets a big idea and rides back into town to show us why this is the enduring genre in Hollywood. The man perhaps most responsible for keeping the fire burning? Taylor Sheridan. And before Yellowstone, there was this film.
Hell or High Water remains one of the finest neo-Westerns ever made, nearly a decade after its release. Directed by David Mackenzie from Sheridan’s screenplay, the 2016 crime thriller takes the bones of the traditional Western and drops them into modern-day Texas, swapping outlaws robbing stagecoaches for desperate men hitting banks — although the line between the good guys and bad guys isn’t nearly as straightforward as that description makes it sound. And that’s what made Sheridan’s screenplay so sharp, because it wasn’t a matter of black and white. These are good people who do bad things… but does that mean they’re bad people, too?
Chris Pine and Ben Foster star as brothers Toby and Tanner Howard, who begin robbing branches of the same bank that’s threatening to foreclose on their family’s ranch. Their plan is surprisingly calculated, but Tanner’s volatile personality means keeping everything under control becomes increasingly difficult. Meanwhile, Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) is approaching retirement and becomes determined to catch them before hanging up his badge.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Was ‘Hell or High Water’ a Success?
The film was met with universal acclaim when it was released, and Hell or High Water currently holds a superb 97% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, alongside an 88% audience score. At the box office, it was a sleeper hit, grossing $38 million worldwide against a reported $12 million budget. But on the awards circuit, it fared even better, and Hell or High Water earned four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Bridges, Best Original Screenplay for Sheridan, and Best Film Editing.
Alongside the three leads, the movie stars Gil Birmingham (Yellowstone) as Alberto Parker, Dale Dickey (Winter’s Bone) as Elsie, Katy Mixon (American Housewife) as Jenny Ann, Marin Ireland (The Irishman) as Debbie Howard, and Kevin Rankin (Justified) as Billy Rayburn.
