Hell or High Water: parents' guide
Best for ages 16 and up. Rated R for some strong violence, language throughout and brief sexuality.
A tense, thoughtful modern Western for older teens and adults, with strong language and sudden, bloody violence. Two brothers rob branches of the bank that is about to foreclose on their late mother's West Texas ranch while an aging Texas Ranger and his partner track them. Robberies involve beatings and guns pointed at bystanders, and the gunfights leave several people dead, including two killed by rifle shots to the head. Swearing is frequent, the ranger's running jokes about his partner's heritage are openly racist, and a brief sex scene shows a naked woman out of focus. The violence and language are why we suggest 16.
What's in it
Violence
StrongPistol-whippings and beatings during robberies, a fight where a young man is slammed repeatedly with a car door, and several shootouts. Bystanders are wounded and two men die from graphic rifle shots to the head. Sexual violence: a woman is painfully groped, off camera.
Language
StrongFrequent and strong: counts range from more than 20 to about 30 f-words, plus about a dozen s-words, 'motherf--ker,' a crude insult for women used about a dozen times, ethnic slurs, and God's name paired with curses.
Sex and nudity
ModerateOne brief scene shows a brother having loud sex with a naked woman on a hotel bed, out of focus in the background, while his brother tries to sleep. A woman flirts at a bar and asks a man back to his room.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
ModerateBeer and whiskey flow freely among robbers and lawmen alike, and cigarettes and an e-cigarette appear. A father offers his teenage son a beer while telling him not to turn out like him. Meth users are mentioned.
Scary or intense scenes
ModerateFrightened tellers and customers are held at gunpoint, and a long chase ends in a deadly standoff. The deaths are sudden and bloody, and a family history of a violent father hangs over the brothers.
Sensitive topics
- Racism
Worth talking about
The brothers see the bank as the real thief. Can an unfair system ever justify a crime, and who ends up paying the price for theirs?
On our lists
Similar picks around 16+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, the MPA, Wikipedia, movieguide.org. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.