10 Best Westerns NOT Set In The Old West

Hell or High Water was written by Taylor Sheridan and directed by David Mackenzie, released in late 2016. Starring a never better (except Big Lebowski) Jeff Bridges alongside Chris Pine, Ben Foster and Gil Birmingham, the film sees two brothers as they start robbing banks in order to pay their mortgage.

The plan starts off well, but soon a veteran lawman (Bridges) is hot on their trail. Described as a neo-Western heist thriller, Hell or High Water is the kind of film that sits back to look at the way the Old West has effected present day life. Many things have changed, but lawmen vs bank robbers is still very much a thing, and gunfights are by no means a thing of the past.

Aided by some staggeringly good performances - including a career best Chris Pine - and a great score courtesy of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, it's a slow burn of a picture which nonetheless leaves you transfixed by every frame, every confrontation, and every threat of violence.

The climax, too, is the stuff the best Westerns are made of - you know what's coming, how it's all going to end, but you can't help but hold on for dear life until it's over.