The Best Taylor Sheridan Movies

Taylor Sheridan has become one of the most recognizable creative forces in modern American television, thanks to hit series such as Yellowstone, 1883, 1923, Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, and Landman. But before Sheridan became a television powerhouse, he established himself as one of Hollywood’s most distinctive screenwriters.

Sheridan’s movie career is built around crime, violence, survival, morality, and the complicated realities of the American West. His screenplays often feature characters caught between desperation and duty, while his stories rarely offer easy answers. His work on Sicario and Hell or High Water earned particular critical acclaim, with Hell or High Water earning Sheridan an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

From his acclaimed collaborations with directors Denis Villeneuve and David Mackenzie to his own directorial work, here are the best Taylor Sheridan movies ranked.

1. Hell or High Water (2016)

If you want to understand what makes Taylor Sheridan such a compelling writer, Hell or High Water is probably the best place to start.

The crime drama follows two brothers, Toby and Tanner Howard, who turn to bank robbery in an attempt to save their family’s West Texas ranch from foreclosure. Hot on their trail are Texas Rangers Marcus Hamilton and Alberto Parker.

Directed by David Mackenzie and starring Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, and Ben Foster, the film combines the structure of a modern Western with a surprisingly emotional story about family, poverty, and economic desperation.

Sheridan’s screenplay is arguably the movie’s greatest strength. The dialogue is sharp, the characters feel authentic, and the story manages to make its criminals sympathetic without excusing their actions. The movie was widely praised by critics and currently holds a 97% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Why it’s one of Sheridan’s best: A nearly perfect combination of crime thriller, modern Western, character drama, and social commentary.

2. Sicario (2015)

Before Yellowstone turned Taylor Sheridan into a household name, Sicario announced him as one of Hollywood’s most exciting screenwriters.

Directed by Denis Villeneuve, the film follows FBI agent Kate Macer, played by Emily Blunt, as she is recruited into a shadowy task force targeting a powerful Mexican drug cartel. Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin co-star in the intense thriller.

What separates Sicario from a typical cartel movie is its moral ambiguity. Sheridan puts his characters in a world where the traditional rules of law enforcement seem increasingly meaningless. The deeper Kate gets into the operation, the more she realizes that the line between justice and revenge has almost completely disappeared.

Villeneuve’s direction and Roger Deakins’ cinematography make the movie visually unforgettable, but Sheridan’s screenplay provides the foundation for its relentless tension.

Why it’s one of Sheridan’s best: Dark, suspenseful, intelligent, and uncompromising.

3. Wind River (2017)

Wind River is arguably Taylor Sheridan’s most personal movie—and it also marked his feature directorial debut. Sheridan both wrote and directed the film, which stars Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen.

Renner plays Cory Lambert, a wildlife tracker who discovers the body of a young woman on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. Olsen plays FBI agent Jane Banner, who arrives to investigate the mysterious death.

The investigation becomes a haunting examination of isolation, grief, violence, and the challenges faced by people living in remote communities.

The movie also completes what Sheridan has described as a loose trilogy about the modern American West alongside Sicario and Hell or High Water.

Why it’s one of Sheridan’s best: Sheridan demonstrates that his storytelling works just as well behind the camera as it does on the page.

4. Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018)

Sheridan returned to the world of Sicario with Sicario: Day of the Soldado, this time expanding the story around Benicio del Toro’s Alejandro and Josh Brolin’s Matt Graver.

Rather than attempting to simply recreate the first film, the sequel takes a more militaristic approach. The U.S. government escalates its war against the cartels by exploiting tensions between criminal organizations and creating an increasingly dangerous situation.

While Denis Villeneuve and Roger Deakins did not return, Sheridan’s screenplay retains much of the ruthless atmosphere and moral ambiguity of the original.

It doesn’t quite reach the heights of the first Sicario, but it remains a tense and brutal action thriller.

Why it’s one of Sheridan’s best: A worthy follow-up that expands the world and digs deeper into Alejandro’s character.

5. Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021)

Those Who Wish Me Dead gave Sheridan another opportunity to sit in the director’s chair.

The film stars Angelina Jolie as Hannah, a smokejumper who encounters a young boy fleeing assassins after witnessing his father’s murder. The story unfolds against the backdrop of the Montana wilderness and a massive forest fire. Sheridan directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Koryta and Charles Leavitt.

The movie isn’t as thematically rich as Wind River or Hell or High Water, but it delivers the kind of survival-oriented action that has become closely associated with Sheridan’s work.

The combination of wilderness, fire, assassins, and a desperate escape gives the film a strong sense of urgency.

Why it’s one of Sheridan’s best: A straightforward action thriller that showcases Sheridan’s ability to create tension in extreme environments.

6. Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse (2021)

Sheridan also ventured into the world of military action with Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, starring Michael B. Jordan.

Based on Tom Clancy’s novel, the film follows John Kelly, a Navy SEAL who becomes involved in a conspiracy after a devastating attack on his family and fellow soldiers.

Sheridan received screenplay credit on the film, which represents a significant departure from the rural crime dramas and modern Westerns that define much of his filmography.

While the movie received a more mixed critical response than Sheridan’s earlier work, it is still an interesting entry in his career because it shows him working within the traditional Hollywood action-blockbuster formula.

Why it’s worth watching: A more conventional action movie that shows Sheridan working outside his usual territory.

7. Finestkind (2023)

Finestkind is a smaller-scale crime drama that Sheridan produced rather than wrote or directed. The film follows two brothers who reconnect as adults and become involved with organized crime after making a dangerous deal.

The movie features Ben Foster, Toby Wallace, Jenna Coleman, and Tommy Lee Jones.

While it doesn’t carry the same critical reputation as Sicario, Hell or High Water, or Wind River, it is still worth including for fans interested in Sheridan’s broader movie career.

Why it’s worth watching: A gritty crime story with the kind of working-class characters and moral complications frequently found throughout Sheridan’s productions.

GotchaMovies.com Overall Opinion:

Taylor Sheridan’s strongest movies are remarkably consistent in their themes. Whether he’s writing about drug cartels, bank robbers, murder investigations, or military operations, his stories frequently explore characters living in environments where conventional morality has broken down.

For the best overall Taylor Sheridan movie, Hell or High Water gets the edge. It combines everything Sheridan does best: authentic dialogue, memorable characters, a strong sense of place, violence that feels consequential, and a story rooted in real economic and social pressures.

For the most intense experience, go with Sicario.

For Sheridan’s best directorial effort, Wind River is the clear choice.

And if you’re looking for the movie that most closely captures the spirit of the modern American West that would eventually define Yellowstone, Hell or High Water and Wind River are essential viewing.

Taylor Sheridan Movies Ranked

1. Hell or High Water (2016)
2. Sicario (2015)
3. Wind River (2017)
4. Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018)
5. Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021)
6. Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse (2021)
7. Finestkind (2023)

Sheridan’s movie career may be smaller than his television empire, but the impact of those films is undeniable. Sicario, Hell or High Water, and Wind River in particular established the storytelling style that would later make Sheridan one of the biggest names in modern television.