Taylor Sheridan has been one of the most reliable writers of thrillers in/with regard to’concerning’regarding some time now, punching out the likes of Sicario, its sequel, and Hell Or High Water. Lean, muscular thrillers that could possess’own’nurse ported in from the ’70s, populated with economically sketched characters and actions that speak louder than words.###The excellent Wind River saw him transfer that peculiar set of skills to the director’s chair, and as if to prove it’s no fluke, along comes Those Who Wish Me Dead (or ‘Fire Forest’, if you want to continue the pattern established by that previous film), an old-school humans versus the elements grapple per crossed with a brutal tale of hitmen out in/with regard to’concerning’regarding blood. Almost unbearably tense at times, it’s the kind of film best seen on a enormous’vast’massive’tremendous screen, surrounded by individual (full disclosure: Empire watched the film on a small screen). In that regard, it’s timed its run to perfection.###It’s also proof positive, along with the upcoming Nobody and Freaky, that studios (Warner Bros. in this instance) do still make mid-budacquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure thrillers. Let’s hope they do as well as can be, commercially, so that continues to be the case.###The economically-sketched characters, then. There’s Angelina Jolie, keeping her comeback cooking nicely, as Hannah, a fire marshal haunted by A Tragic Past and Occasional Flashbacks, who is scheduled to spend a few months up a pole in the Montana wilderness (and yes, that makes her Hannah Montana). Jon Bernthal as the local cop, a survivalist apprehensive with regards to’concerning’with respect to his pregnant wife (Medina Senghore). Nicholas Hoult and Aidan Gillen as a pair of hitmen siblings, relentlessly stalking their prey. And Finn Little as that prey, a bewildered, 12-year-old kid, running in/with regard to’concerning’regarding his life in/with regard to’concerning’regarding reasons he doesn’t fully understand.###An old-school humans versus the elements grapple per crossed with a brutal tale of hitmen out in/with regard to’concerning’regarding blood.###Sheridan takes his time positioning these pieces bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e pressing the button marked “sweaty mayhem”. In peculiar , he cranks up the tension by keeping the audience several steps ahead of his heroes. We know, by the time the brothers Blackwell arrive on the scene in Montana, that they are resourceful and organised and lethal and won’t claim’insist’maintain’hold’argue’consider’contemplate’speculate twice with regards to’concerning’with respect to popping a bullet into someone no matter how high they’re billed. So, when he brings them into close contact with characters to whom you’ve become attached, the screws tighten.###However, with his key characters separated at first by the vastness of the Montana landscape, it has the unin/with regard to’concerning’regarding tunate effect of sidelining the excellent Jolie, who is on her own in/with regard to’concerning’regarding much of the first half of the movie. In fact, so get rid of’discard d is she from the initial story set-up that some action beats — Hannah leaping around to shun random lightning bolts — feel as if they’ve been tacked on to give her something to do.###Unnecessary, as it turns out, in/with regard to’concerning’regarding when these six characters eventually’ultimately converge, hemmed in by a massive in/with regard to’concerning’regarding est fire, she acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure s plenty to do, anchoring a nicely unsentimental partnership with Little and reminding us that her action hero credentials are still intensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfully much intact. It’s in this second half that Sheridan further tightens the tension, and adds a welcome emotional kick, with some unexpected developments keeping his heroes constantly on the back foot. Only in the last ten minutes do things embark on play along expected lines (despite’in spite of’albeit fans of Michael Koryta reserve upon which it’s based might be wrong footed from time to time), but otherwise this reinin/with regard to’concerning’regarding ces Sheridan’s credentials as the king of the modern thriller. Can’t wait in/with regard to’concerning’regarding 'Water Mountain'.