Taylor Sheridan’s best movie is finding a new audience on Paramount+

Before becoming the director of the “Yellowstone” universe he is today, Taylor Sheridan was a struggling actor, and after a recurring role on “Sons of Anarchy,” he decided to turn his attention to writing. It’s a good thing he did, too, because since then he’s built nothing less than an empire for himself with Yellowstone and its ever-expanding universe, home to a staggering amount of series that will now include The recently confirmed spin-off for Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser.

But since leaving acting, Sheridan hasn’t just been able to dominate the small screen. Even before the release of “Yellowstone” in 2019, the man had been producing an impressive series of crime drama/thrillers that included well-respected films like Denis Villeneuve’s “Sicario” and Snow shocking film “Wind River”. Both films comprise part of what Sheridan called the “American Frontier Trilogy,” and another film also belongs to that group: 2016’s “Hell or High Water.”

This new Western crime drama features Chris Pine and Ben Foster as brothers Toby and Tanner Howard, who, on the verge of losing their family farm, resort to bank robbery in order to stay afloat. All the while, they are being pursued by Texas Rangers Marcus Hamilton and Alberto Parker (Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham). As Marcus nears retirement, he’s not about to let the Howards get away with their latest heist, leading to a tense standoff between the brothers and the guards.

Although “Hell or High Water” made money $37.9 million With a budget of $12 million and a major critical success, you don’t hear it mentioned as much as “Sicario,” which certainly has something to do with the fact that a certain film One of Denis Villeneuve’s best films. But when you consider that “Hell or High Water” also received four Oscar nominations and currently has a higher score on Rotten Tomatoes than any other Sheridan film, it should get as much attention as Villeneuve’s famous collaboration with Sheridan . Instead, the 2016 film was a hit, at least on the Paramount+ streaming service.

“Hell or High Water” debuted on Paramount+ on December 1, bringing a nice dose of tense crime drama to the streamer just in time for the holiday season. Although Paramount+’s charts are already full of Christmas movies, they’re also a surprisingly mixed bag Twisted horror sequel “Smile 2” It managed to climb to number three, just below Jack Black’s holiday offering “Dear Santa” at number one and “Bad Santa” at number two. But look at the bottom half of the top 10 films and you’ll see Taylor Sheridan’s film creeping up the rankings.

As of December 18, 2024, “Hell or High Water” has managed to reach #10 on Paramount+’s most-watched movie charts. according to Flex Patrola site that tracks and compiles streaming viewing data across platforms, it took until the 18th for the film to chart at all, but it looks like audiences have just discovered Sheridan’s crime drama beneath the piles of content on offer. Whether the film can stay on the charts and outperform the festive fare remains to be seen, but it would be a nice little renaissance for this Sheridan show in particular (and on the service that also hosts his vast Yellowstone empire, no less ).

If “Hell Or High Water” can survive, or indeed move up, the Paramount+ charts, it will be a well-deserved renaissance, according to Rotten tomatoesTaylor Sheridan’s film “The Best”. now, A site that states that there are only nine perfect horror films in the history of cinema It should not be taken seriously when it comes to determining the quality of movies. But with a score of 97%, there’s no doubt that “Hell or High Water” is as objectively a “good” movie as can be.

Interestingly, the top three Sheridan films on Rotten Tomatoes are the “American Frontier Trilogy” films, with “Sicario” at 92% and “Wind River” at 87%. Fans may have expected the Denis Villeneuve-directed effort to top that list, but the rating speaks for itself. And with 297 reviews to its name on the site, it’s not as if “Hell or High Water” managed to get a 97% through some sort of fluke due to a lack of reviews.

Meanwhile, on Prime Video, Sheridan’s “Sicario” sequel, “Sicario: Day of the Soldado,” similarly sits at No. 10 on the most-watched charts on streamers, according to Flex Patrol. Unfortunately, this 2018 effort only managed an RT rating of 62%, so if you’re going to join the streaming crowds and reacquaint yourself with any of Sheridan’s films, “Hell or High Water” is probably your best bet for you.