Hell or High Water presents a great character study

Grade: B+

Rating: R, 102 minutes

In a Nutshell: Director David Mackenzie present us with rich characters to study in this modern Western flick.

Uplifting theme:

Things I liked:

Chris Pine is so awesome. I love him in everything.
Jeff Bridges has really been hitting the Big Screen hard the last few years. He’s perfect at playing a crusty old guy with a thick Southern drawl. He does a great job in this film. My only complaint is that half of the time you can hardly understand what he’s saying because he grumbles and mumbles so much.
Ben Foster does an excellent job.
It’s not smart to rob a bank in Texas where so many people have a conceal/carry license. Ha ha Tanner laughs, “These conceal carry permits sure complicate a bank robbery, don’t they?”
I had just learned what Pemmican is and they actually mentioned it in this movie.” Check out this video to see for yourself what pemmican is and why it’s the perfect survival food.
There is a surprising amount of humor.
The T-bone waitress (Margaret Bowman) conversation was pretty funny.
The weathered faces and attitudes of the poor Texans was believable.
You just don’t mess with a good, ole boy Texan sherriff

Things I didn’t like:

Marcus makes lots of racist comments about Mexicans, native Americans, and Christians.
Big banks as the enemy is certainly not a new idea.
I just really wanted the brothers to take a shower.

Interesting lines:

“You never understood that fighting back makes the beating last longer.” – Toby (Chris Pine)
“You know what Comanche means. It means enemies forever.” – Bear (Gregory Cruz)

“You know what that makes me? A Comanche.” – Tanner

“You tell me not to be like you and then you offer me a beer. Which is it?” – Justin Howard (John-Paul Howard)

Funny lines:

“This is our uniform.” – Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham)

“You want to hear about these robberies or just sit there and let Alzheimer’s run its course?” – Alberto
“Could you tell their race? Black? White?” – Marcus

“Their skin or their souls?” – Elsie (Dale Dickey)

“Tweakers don’t sleep. They just tweak.” – Alberto (“Tweaker” is slang for drug addicts.)
“You Rangers are an odd bunch.” – Bank Manager (Joe Berryman)

“No, just him.” – Alberto

“Only A-holes drink Mr. Pibb.” – Tanner
“In your last days in the nursing home, you’ll think of me and giggle.” – Tanner
“Anything a 5 year old can do ain’t a sport.” – Marcus
“This is what they call ‘white man’s intuition.’” – Marcus

“Sometimes a blind pig finds a truffle.” – Alberto

Tips for parents:

Lots of profanity, including lots of F-bombs.
Some people get shot and killed with some blood and gore.
You’ll want to make sure your kids understand that just because someone needs money or has a sob story, it doesn’t mean it’s OK to commit crime.