10 Modern Westerns Destined to Become Classics

The Western genre has always been a staple of American culture and spirit. With rugged landscapes, ruthless bandits, stoic heroes, and lawless saloons, Western movies have been entertaining audiences worldwide since the 1930s.

After a dip in popularity in the 1970s, modern Westerns blew up in the 1990s, which reminded us that classic Western themes might have become less popular, but are far from dead. Filmmakers use contemporary settings, embracing the Old Western myths and depicting struggles to survive in the Wild West landscapes. Although modern Westerns may not be as huge as old Westerns were, they still remain a favorite genre among audiences.

Let’s go through some of the modern Westerns that became classics.

10 Best Modern Westerns That Will Be Remembered for Years

1. Unforgiven (1992)

Clint Eastwood — one of the biggest stars in several classic Western movies — directed and starred in Unforgiven. In the film, Clint plays William Munny, an old man retired from his outlaw days who now lives on a hog farm after his wife’s death. After Sheriff Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman) whips William’s old friend Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman) to death, William comes out of his retirement for revenge.

What makes this movie great is Clint Eastwood’s masterful direction and strong acting. Moreover, this modern Western delves into the inner conflicts of characters rather than keeping them as flat-out heroes and villains.

2. The Power of the Dog (2021)

The story follows Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch), a stone-cold, stoic rancher determined to make his brother’s (Jesse Plemons) wife’s life hell, played by Kirsten Dunst. But things change when Phil strikes a complex bond with their son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee).

Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog brilliantly examines masculinity and deconstructs the myth of the Old West. Plus, stellar performances by the great cast make it stand out. Truly, one of the classics in the making and will be remembered for years to come.

3. No Country for Old Men (2007)

If it’s a conversation about modern Westerns, leaving out the Coen Brothers is a serious cinematic crime. No Country for Old Men might be one of their most influential movies for the next generation.

As Llewelyn (Josh Brolin) finds a bag full of money in the aftermath of a drug cartel shootout, he takes it. Then, the most menacing and complex villain in the history of cinema, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), follows him around to retrieve the money.

It earned the Coen Brothers the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Moreover, Javier Bardem won the Best Supporting Actor award for portraying the cold-blooded assassin, Anton Chigurh.

4. True Grit (2010)

True Grit is the Coen brothers’ earnest attempt to remake the classic John Wayne Western from 1969. Jeff Bridges plays Marshal Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn, whom Mattie (Hailee Steinfeld) hires to track down Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), who killed her dad. Matt Damon plays a Texas Ranger, La Boeuf, who tags along to help.

Unlike the original, the Coen Brothers tell the story from Mattie’s perspective, which earned them several Academy Award nominations.

5. Django Unchained (2012)

The story follows the journey of a slave named Django (Jamie Foxx) who agrees to help a bounty hunter, Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), in exchange for his help in freeing his wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), owned by a wealthy plantation owner, Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Django Unchained, in true Tarantino’s fashion, is loud, violent, and filled with zoom-in shots. The climax shootout between Django and the plantation family plays over ten long minutes and is really bloody. Christoph Waltz's stunning performance as the bounty hunter earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

6. Bone Tomahawk (2015)

In the Old West, the cannibalistic savages of a cave-dwelling troglodyte clan have captured a few settlers from the Bright Hope town. Sensing the danger, a small-time sheriff named Franklin Hunt (Kurt Russell) and a bunch of cowboys set out in search of cannibals to put an end to the terror.

S. Craig Zahler’s Bone Tomahawk is a criminally underrated modern Western movie with a twist of horror sensibilities. Imagine The Hills Have Eyes meets a John Wayne Western. This movie is deeply unsettling with its gory and gruesome bursts of violence.

7. The Revenant (2015)

Leonardo DiCaprio sizzles as Hugh Glass in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s gritty survival movie The Revenant. This modern Western follows Hugh Glass, a frontiersman, who is left behind after being mauled by a bear. He makes his way to his tribe by surviving through extreme situations and plans to take vengeance on the man who killed his son.

The movie was a huge success, both critically and commercially. It also shone at the Academy Awards section, earning Alejandro the Best Director Award, Leonardo DiCaprio the Best Actor Award, and Emmanuel Lubezki the Best Cinematography for capturing this visual masterpiece.

8. Logan (2017)

In James Mangold’s superhero neo-Western Logan, Hugh Jackman delivers a performance of a lifetime as Wolverine. Set at the end of the X-Men storyline continuity, Logan (Hugh Jackman) is now a caretaker for an ailing Charles Xavier. When he bumps into a mutant girl, Laura (Dafne Keen), he must protect her from the evil corporations that conduct experiments on mutant kids.

This movie is a character study of one of the greatest comic book heroes placed in a Western setting. This movie proves that there's more to superhero genre movies than just big muscles, small tights, and extravagant powers. Surely an interesting entry to the list.

9. Hell or High Water (2016)

Two brothers, Toby Howard (Chris Pine) and Tanner Howard (Ben Foster), an ex-convict with a short temper, resort to a series of heists against the bank that’s about to foreclose on their family’s ranch. Standing in their way is a no-nonsense lawman, Marcus, who is only weeks away from retirement.

Hell or High Water features epic showdowns, cars passing through long highways, and deserted plains. If No Country for Old Men were a heist movie, then this would be it. David Mackenzie’s film is a true portrayal of Western mayhem done right.

10. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

Written and directed by the Coen Brothers, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs packs six darkly comedic, poignant tales in one.

These stories are cleverly executed with the Coens’ trademark blend of dark drama and black humor, comprising themes of justice, death, and survival. From the very first second, the scenic views and a power-packed star cast will captivate you in this fun Western. Each story carries a different tonal approach and distinct characters that will make you smile. The movie demonstrates how the Western setting has vastly different narratives — from comedy to tragedy to allegory.

Summing Up

Modern Westerns are a captivating approach to telling stories and American frontier myths. These movies deserve to live on as they showcase the moral complexity and social landscapes, focusing on contemporary issues, unlike the clear-cut battle between good and evil in traditional Westerns.

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