Western films remain a stalwart movie genre even after over a century's worth of films. Nowadays, Westerns have moved past the standard Old West films of eras past, when films starring John Wayne and Clint Eastwood wowed audiences often, but seldom moved past tropes established early in their making.
Beginning in the latter third of the 20th Century, filmmakers like Sam Peckinpah began to find ways to bring the genre into the present day, eschewing simple 'Cowboys vs. Indians' plots for narratives that show these lifestyles still exist today.
Nowadays, period Western films are still being produced, but filmmakers like Chloé Zhao and Taylor Sheridan have found inventive ways of bringing them into the present. A large swath of America remains rural, leaving room to update the genre while still keeping elements of old-fashioned Western fare.
The genre has also pushed beyond the boundaries of America into countries like Australia and even Iran, proving that the genre isn't confined to any single locale. The following are the 15 greatest Westerns set in the present day.
15 The Last Stand (2013)
The Last Stand had every reason to be bad — with a somewhat gimmicky cast, a very basic plot, and an aging Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose other recent action films have been lackluster. And yet, all those factors are, somehow, what makes the movie more entertaining.
The dusty, contemporary version of a bygone Old West provides the perfect backdrop to a plot that recalls '70s car-driven movies like Death Race 2000 and Smokey and the Bandit, and the escapism allowed by this mindless-but-fun film makes for an eminently-watchable action-farce.
The Last Stand Saw Arnold Believably Playing His Age
Arnold Schwarzenegger has lately found himself in films and ad campaigns that lampoon his action star past and comically-thick Austrian accent, so The Last Stand was an important return to straight action for the actor. It also saw Arnie playing his age as Sheriff Ray Owens, a seen-it-all officer of the law who can still harness his 'old man power' when necessary. The result is a neo-Western rife with nostalgia for similar films of yesteryear. Rent The Last Stand on AppleTV+
14 Holes (2003)
Holes
- Release Date
- April 18, 2003
- Runtime
- 117
Holes makes us long for the early-2000s era of its release, when Disney still made family films that weren't part of a major franchise, and we didn't have to cringe a bit to watch Shia LaBeouf on screen.
The cast is top-notch, luckily catching Jon Voight, Sigourney Weaver, and Henry Winkler at a time when all three were experiencing career downturns, before their more recent comebacks. The film mixes Old West Era flashbacks with a present-day plot about Stanley (LaBeouf), a boy looking to uproot a multi-generational curse from his family.
Holes Director Andrew Davis Showed Range Beyond His Famous '90s Action Films
Andrew Davis is one of those directors whose movies everybody loves, but has retained little name recognition. After making hit films like The Fugitive and Under Siege in the '90s, Davis attempted to show his range with this family film. While it was a success, Davis never truly returned to prominence and went into semi-retirement shortly after Holes' was released. Stream Holes on Disney+
13 Let Him Go (2020)
Let Him Go
- Release Date
- November 5, 2020
- Runtime
- 113
Let Him Go again proved Kevin Costner's ability to bring stirring gravitas to the Western genre, this time with a film that coincidentally cast him as a Montana rancher the same year that Yellowstone premiered.
Costner plays George Blackledge, the town Sheriff, who lives on a ranch with his wife Margaret (Diane Lane) and his adult son and daughter-in-law. When their son dies in a tragic accident, his young wife shacks up with an abusive man, who absconds with George and Margaret's daughter before they can intervene.
Let Him Go Featured Diane Lane's Best Recent Performance
Diane Lane got top billing in the film for a standout performance. She drives the plot when she goes on the hunt for her daughter and grandson, creating a quest through beautiful Montana landscapes. Margaret will stop at nothing, including violence, to bring her family back to safety, and the neo-Western aspects of Let Him Go make it more relatable than an Old West drama. Stream Let Him Go Peacock
12 Cowboy Up (2001)
Cowboy Up is a little-known neo-Western gem from the early-2000s. The film's three major stars, Kiefer Sutherland, Darryl Hannah and Molly Ringwald, were all experiencing career downturns at the time — paving the way for the tiny film to have an all-star cast.
The story follows a rising bull riding star, Ely (Marcus Thomas), who dreams of stardom against the wishes of his girlfriend and family after he suffers a terrible accident. On the way back to the top, Ely begins a relationship with his brother's love interest, causing a family rift.
Cowboy Up Staked Its Claim as One of the Few Great Bull Riding Films
Considering how dramatic and action-packed a subject like professional bull riding can be, there have been very few successful films about the deadly sport. Films like 8 Seconds and My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys have often missed the mark. To date, Cowboy Up and The Rider are the only rodeo films with significant scores on Rotten Tomatoes. Rent Cowboy Up on AppleTV+
11 The Rover (2014)
the rover
- Release Date
- June 4, 2014
- Runtime
- 100
The Rover imagined a world where civilization is pushed to the brink, and people must fend for themselves in a neo-Western world. It was produced in Australia, a country responsible for many great modern Westerns, and featured a story by famed Australian actor Joel Edgerton.
The cast is stellar, with Western veteran Guy Pearce playing Eric, a man who has lost everything in this dystopian world, and Robert Pattinson playing Reynolds, an intellectually challenged man from the American South.
Guy Pearce Has Quietly Become One of the Biggest Western Stars
Between the '90s horror Western Ravenous, the Australian historical Western The Proposition and his stirring role in The Rover, Guy Pearce has quietly become one of the greatest contemporary actors within the genre. The Rover proved Pearce's ability to elevate a film, as this contained story benefited from standout acting performances despite a thin story. Stream The Rover on Max
10 God's Country (2022)
God's Country was a parable that clearly was meant to diagnose the divides in America between rich and poor, educated and uneducated, rural and metropolitan, Right Wing and Left. Thandiwe Newton plays Sandra, an ex-cop who flees from New Orleans after the events of Hurricane Katrina leave her reeling. Sandra takes up residence in rural Montana with her mother, but when her mom dies, she begins to unravel and finds herself at odds with the locals.
Newton's Performance Showed a Transformation to New Types of Roles
With God's Country, Newton left behind costume dramas and romance movies to play a badass cop willing to dispatch of two hunters who begin to encroach on her life. The film was the rare Western that shows a culture clash, illuminating America's many divides. Stream God's Country on AMC+
9 Red Hill (2010)
Red Hill
- Release Date
- November 5, 2010
- Cast
- Steve Bisley , Kevin Harrington , Ryan Kwanten , Tommy Lewis , Claire van der Boom
- Runtime
- 96
Red Hill was another in a long line of Australian Westerns that offered a fish-out-of-water story about a young cop, Shane Cooper (Ryan Kwanten) who relocates to a small town. He finds that his morals are immediately at odds with the Chief of Police, when he refuses to fire on a young boy — who ends up shooting him instead. As Shane and the local police pursue an escaped convict, the young lawman begins to uncover a conspiracy.
Red Hill Provided Old Fashioned Western Thrills in a Contemporary Context
Aside from the obvious signs of a present-day setting, this film could easily have been made as a period piece. The plot develops much like a classic Western, with allegiances swaying back and forth, and a climax of shootouts to easily rival depictions of the OK Corral. Stream Red Hill on Tubi
8 Blue Ruin (2014)
Blue Ruin
5/5
Dwight Evans' lives his life as a beach vagrant. He has no contact with his sister, and his parents were murdered ten years prior. When he gets word that his parents' killer, Wade Cleland, is set to be released from prison, Dwight decides that he has nothing left to lose and sets out on a quest to avenge his parents' deaths. Dwight succeeds in killing Wade, but complications emerge when his botched getaway allows the Cleland family the opportunity to vow revenge.
- Release Date
- April 25, 2014
- Director
- Jeremy Saulnier
- Runtime
- 1h 30m
Blue Ruin racked up an astounding 97% critical score on RT as a revenge thriller about a man whose life has been reduced to homelessness after the loss of his parents to a double murder 20 years earlier.
Dwight (Macon Blair) can't shake the trauma, and when his parent's killer is released from prison, he takes justice into his own hands. The film lacked the cowboy hats and six-shooters of traditional Westerns, but the plot is much like Old School, mid-century Westerns — packaged as a small indie feature.
Blue Ruin Was An Unexpectedly Great Film With Largely Unknown Actors
Macon Blair was a fledgling writer-producer with only a few credits to his name before Blue Ruin showed how great he could be on-screen. Since this career-elevating performance, Blair has gone on to higher profile roles, including a recent turn as Lloyd K. Garrison in this year's Best Picture Oscar-winner, Oppenheimer. Stream Blue Ruin on Tubi
7 Wind River (2017)
Wind River
- Release Date
- August 3, 2017
- Cast
- Kelsey Chow , Jeremy Renner , Julia Jones , Teo Briones , Apesanahkwat , Graham Greene
- Runtime
- 111
Wind River saw today's most prominent writer of Western fare, Taylor Sheridan, bring a new school Western tale to the cold climes of a Wyoming Native American reservation. There, Jane (Elizabeth Olson) and Cory (Jeremy Renner), an FBI Agent and local lawman, team up on a baffling case.
The film's incredible, remote locations and a stirring score from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis create a foreboding atmosphere, setting the groundwork for a complex crime film with elements of mystery.
Elizabeth Olson Took on a Physical Role That Showed Her Enormous Range
Wind River saw Elizabeth Olson move into a new acting realm, playing a character who finds herself better served by caution than trust. She is thrust into one violent confrontation after another in a locale where friend and foe are difficult to disseminate. The film rounded out Taylor Sheridan's trilogy of the modern-day American frontier, showing the many ways Western films can still be relevant. Rent Wind River on AppleTV+
6 A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
- Release Date
- January 19, 2014
- Cast
- Sheila Vand , Arash Marandi , Marshall Manesh , Mozhan Marnò , Dominic Rains , Rome Shadanloo
- Runtime
- 107
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is a completely unique neo-Western horror, shot in California but using the Farsi language of director Ana Lily Amanpour. The young, Iranian-American filmmaker found the help of Elijah Wood, who acted as a producer on the film, which was distributed by the uber-hip Vice Films.
A Western Horror That Shows the Dark Underbelly of Drugs and Prostitution
Despite being a categorical vampire film and Western, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night doesn't easily fit into either category, as it follows "The Girl" (Sheila Vand), who wears a traditional chador instead of a cape and cowl and prefers skateboarding in her apartment instead of typical vampiric activities.
The film's vigilante plot is what qualifies it as a neo-Western, with The Girl exacting revenge for the innocent like Western protagonists of old. Rent A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night on AppleTV+
5 The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada was the brainchild of writer Guillermo Arriaga, who considers himself a hunter first and a screenwriter second. Arriaga secured the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for the film, Babel, but first made the smaller Estrada, which starred Tommy Lee Jones and Barry Pepper.
Arriaga based the plot on the real life story of a Mexican migrant laborer. When the migrant herder, Melquiades, is mistakenly killed by a Border Patrol Agent named Mike (Pepper), his best friend Pete (Jones) decides to grant Melquiades' wish to be buried back home in Mexico.
Melquiades Showed a Sympathetic Side of the Migrant Lifestyle Long Before the Topic Became Popular
Before President Donald Trump devised his border wall and cross-border migration moved into a full-on crisis, this film tackled the issue, which has existed in some form or fashion since the Mexican land grants of the 19th Century. Still, Arriaga's script was sensitive to both sides of this conflict, and the film remains important among the long lineage of Westerns that have straddled the Southern border of the U.S. Stream The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada on FuboTV
4 El Camino (2019)
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
El Camino had an unenviable task: filling the shoes of one of TV's most beloved series of all time in Breaking Bad(and without Walter White at its disposal). It did so in spades, with a limited theatrical release belying a film that could have topped that weekend's box office. Jesse Pinkman's next chapters saw Aaron Paul mature as an actor, and appearances from stalwarts Robert Forster and Jonathan Banks offset Cranston's absence.
How the Film Was Merely a Categorical Western
Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan has long admired the Spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone, and often referenced them in the series. With this film, he had the creative license to move into more Western tropes, as Pinkman seeks a new life in Alaska, sending his pursuers on a wild good chase. The film has no horses or cowboy hats, but references Westerns all the way into the final shot. Stream El Camino on Netflix
3 The Rider (2017)
The Rider was an unexpected tour de force from director Chloé Zhao, an artist willing to embed herself in rural America to discover stories outside a civically-minded film business.
Her intrepid approach to filmmaking in the backwoods eventually led to a Best Director award at the Oscars for Nomadland, but first, the Chinese-born director made a big impression with her straight, contemporary Western, The Rider. The film centered around a Lakota Sioux population in the Dakotas, with actor Brady Jandreau impressing in his debut.
The Rider Floored Critics With Its Realism
The Rider managed to secure a 97% critical rating on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, after Zhao's incredibly realistic approach to documenting a native community. Brady Jandreau showed his impressive skills with a horse, playing a former rodeo cowboy searching for a new purpose. He doubled as the film's horse trainer, and the movie laid the groundwork for Zhao's meteoric rise to an Oscar-winning director. Stream The Rider on Cinemax
2 Hell or High Water (2016)
Part heist film, part Western, part allegory of America's farming crisis, Hell or High Water showed scribe Taylor Sheridan's immense talent right before he became one of TV's biggest showrunners with Yellowstone. Jeff Bridges slots into the Sheriff role perfectly as Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton, and watching the film elicits mixed emotions, as you find yourself variously rooting for the cops and the robbers.
This Contemporary Western Used an Untapped Plot Device
Few Westerns have ever focused as heavily on bank robbery as much this film. The Howard Brothers smash-and-grab approach isn't far-fetched, as they're targeting lightly-guarded banks in sleepy Texas towns. Ben Foster gives one of his best performances as Tanner Howard, who is so disillusioned by poverty that he's willing to sacrifice his life for the family farm. Stream Hell or High Water on Paramount+
1 Sicario (2015)
Sicario
- Release Date
- September 17, 2015
- Runtime
- 120
Sicario made a Western out of America's Southern border crisis, which has long seen Mexican drug cartels control the import of controlled substances and street drugs into the U.S. After impressing with his first film produced in America, Prisoners, the Québécois director tackled a topic that has plagued both Mexico and the U.S. for decades.
Emily Blunt plays Kate Macer, an FBI Special Agent tasked with joining forces with a CIA task force, quickly learning that CIA officer Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) is willing to bend any international law to bring cartel drug lords to justice.
Sicario Brought Us Into The Deadly World of Juarez
Villeneuve's film brought the audience into a city as close to the outlaw Old West as any place in present day America, when Graver takes her into Juarez to extradite a Sonora lieutenant back across the border to El Paso.
Kate sees just how dirty these CIA operatives are willing to get, especially when he sicks his Rottweiler-like special agent Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) on the cartel responsible for his family's death. Incredible supporting roles from Daniel Kaluuya and Jon Bernthal round out a modern-day Western that is pure fire. Stream Sicario on Prime Video
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