Taylor Sheridan’s Best Movie Is Finding A New Audience On Paramount+

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

But since he left acting behind, Sheridan hasn’t just managed to take over the small screen. Even before “Yellowstone” launched in 2019, the man was churning out an impressive run of crime drama/thrillers which included such well-respected fare as the Denis Villeneuve-directed “Sicario” and snowy shocking thriller “Wind River.” Both films comprised part of what Sheridan called his “American Frontier Trilogy,” and there’s another film that also belongs to that group: 2016’s “Hell or High Water.”

This neo-Western crime drama features Chris Pine and Ben Foster as brothers Toby and Tanner Howard who, on the verge of losing their family ranch, turn to bank robbing in order to stay afloat. All the while, they’re pursued by Texas Rangers Marcus Hamilton and Alberto Parker (Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham). With Marcus on the verge of retirement, he’s not about to let the Howards get away with their final robbery, leading to a tense showdown between the brothers and the rangers.

Though “Hell or High Water” grossed $37.9 million on a $12 million budget and was a big critical success, you don’t hear it mentioned as much as “Sicario,” which surely has to do with the fact that particular movie is one of Denis Villeneuve’s best films. But when you consider that “Hell or High Water” also earned four Oscar nominations and that it currently holds a higher Rotten Tomatoes score than any other Sheridan film, it really should command as much attention as Villeneuve’s celebrated collaboration with Sheridan. In lieu of that, the 2016 movie is at least faring well over on the Paramount+ streaming service.

“Hell or High Water” hit Paramount+ on December 1, bringing a nice dose of tense crime drama to the streamer just in time for the festive season. While the Paramount+ charts are indeed full of Christmas movies, they’re also a surprisingly mixed bag, with twisted horror sequel “Smile 2” managing to climb to the number three spot, just below Jack Black’s holiday offering “Dear Santa” at number one and “Bad Santa” at number two. But cast your eyes down to the lower half of the Top 10 and you’ll see Taylor Sheridan’s movie creeping into the rankings.

As of December 18, 2024, “Hell or High Water” has managed to hit number 10 on the Paramount+ most-watched movie charts. According to FlixPatrol, a site that tracks and aggregates streaming viewership data across platforms, it took until the 18th for the film to chart at all, but it seems audiences have only just discovered Sheridan’s crime drama beneath the mounds of content on offer. Whether the film can remain on the charts and outdo the festive fare there remains to be seem, but it would be a nice little renaissance for this particular Sheridan offering (and on the service that also hosts his vast “Yellowstone” empire, no less).

If “Hell Or High Water” manages to stay, or indeed climb the Paramount+ charts, it will be a well-earned renaissance for what is, according to Rotten Tomatoes, Taylor Sheridan’s “best” movie. Now, a site that states there’s only nine perfect horror movies in cinematic history should not be taken too seriously when it comes to deciding the quality of movies. But with a 97% score, there’s no doubt that “Hell or High Water” is about as objectively as “good” a movie as possible.

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

Meanwhile, over on Prime Video, Sheridan’s “Sicario” sequel, “Sicario: Day of the Soldado,” is similarly occupying the number 10 spot on the streamer’s most-watched charts, as per FlixPatrol. Unfortunately, that 2018 effort only managed a 62% RT score, so if you’re going to join the streaming crowds and reacquaint yourself with any Sheridan movie, “Hell or High Water” is probably your best bet.