Film: 'Hell or High Water'

With not only Chris Pine and Ben Foster in the same film, but the added attraction of the ever significant and welcome presence of Jeff Bridges (in possibly his last screen appearance, though I do hope not), this film must surely be good, musn't it? Yes, it most emphatically is! If Bridges is to bow out with this production he could hardly have chosen better.

Directed by the English David Mackenzie, who has more than a dozen films to his credit though I've not seen any of them due to very limited release, this one deserves to put his name firmly on the map.

Set in the present day, Pine and Foster are two brothers who, right from the film's start, are on a bank robbing spree in small-towns-Texas - not necessarily to vastly enrich themselves, but primarily to pay the debt on a ranch and secure its ownership, though their 'takings' does enable them to engage in other activities as well. 
Bridges is a local, long-in-the-tooth lawman/ranger on the very cusp of retirement who, along with his deputy, tries to identify and then give chase to the robbers.

There is an agreeable level of dry humour throughout, mostly coming from Bridges' character, which counterbalances the violence of occasional incidents - though the latter is not excessive for films of this genre.

Acting from all concerned is top-notch. Script is sharp, photography of the great, flat outdoors is all for which one could hope - and with a soundtrack of Nick Cave songs, well, it's as near perfect as dammit.

It's one of those films which I find hard to fault. It does end on not quite the resolution which films of this type usually do, though not that that is a criticism of it.

A film which I'm pretty sure will provide widespread pleasure worldwide...............7.5.