Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
A young boy finds himself pursued by two assassins in the Montana wilderness, with a survival expert determined to protect him, and a forest fire threatening to consume them all.
Those Who Wish Me Dead is a serviceable neo-western thriller that struggles to distinguish itself. The plot is functional but thin, relying on a fairly generic chase structure with underdeveloped villains and motivations that never feel fully fleshed out. Angelina Jolie and the supporting cast (Jon Bernthal, Aidan Gillen) perform competently, elevating material that doesn't always deserve it. The Montana wilderness setting is visually appealing and Taylor Sheridan frames the landscape with some skill, but it rarely rises above competent. The wildfire backdrop is an interesting pressure-cooker device but feels underutilized as a narrative element. As a Sheridan script it lacks the depth of Hell or High Water or Wind River, feeling more like a straightforward genre exercise. The ending resolves things adequately but without much emotional payoff or surprise.