If you can get past the miraculously dewy complexion and on-point smoky-eye look of Angelina Jolie as a toughened Montana Forest Service firefighter, it’s a pleasure to see her back in full movie-star mode in a grown-up thriller.
Like Sheridan’s directing debut Wind River, this New Line thriller meshes big-sky Western DNA with the steely violence and unflinching carnage of more contemporary crime.
Their bloody encounter on a quiet stretch of road outside of town leaves Connor traumatized and alone, clutching a written account of his dad’s findings, with instructions to get it to the press.
The hitmen’s boss shows up in Montana to let them know he’s unhappy about the loose ends.
The stirring feel for the grandeur and solitude of frontier country that Sheridan has shown in both his films and his television work on Yellowstone places the characters in an expansive canvas, requiring all of their resources to stay alive.
The murderous set-pieces are handled with brisk efficiency, particularly once Jack and Patrick close in on Hannah’s watchtower, and the climax puts her and Connor between the killers and the encroaching blaze.
The film was shot in New Mexico, with production designer Neil Spisak creating an artificial forest set with a creek running through it, as well as watchtowers.
But the potential to take that dynamic someplace interesting is unexplored, and Patrick’s hesitation about killing kids and pregnant women could have used more careful grounding.
Australian actor Little, in his first American role, strikes a sympathetic balance between Connor’s stunned vulnerability and his eagerness to appear tougher than his age would imply.