Since the 1910s, Westerns have given Hollywood countless masterpieces, from Tombstone to Django Unchained, and Netflix has a strong selection. The genre has been defined for modern audiences by creators like Taylor Sheridan, Quentin Tarantino and the Coen Brothers, all recreating how viewers think of the American frontier. Exploring themes of justice, mystery, revenge and humor, these films always punch above their weight, even if modern audiences don’t appreciate them like they once did.
The Western genre comes in all forms, from slapstick comedy to harrowing revenge thrillers, showing great versatility between projects. Netflix’s selection reflects this range, ensuring there’s something for viewers of all stripes, whether they’re looking for a family-friendly adventure or a revisionist epic. Many of these movies are must-see entries in the genre, with some updating classic stories for a new generation, while others pay homage to the heyday of the Western on TV.
The Last Stand Is Perfect for Fans of Rio Bravo
The Last Stand begins when a cartel boss escapes FBI custody in Las Vegas, using a supercar to flee the state and head for the southern border. Planning to have his men construct a bridge across a canyon so he can pass through undetected, all that stands between him and freedom is the sheriff of Sommerton Junction, Ray Owens. When he catches wind of the plan, he rallies his motley crew of deputies to fend off the gang and make sure the villain doesn’t get past them.
The Last Stand is an official modern update of Howard Hawks’ Western classic Rio Bravo, using its heroes to give audiences a fun sense of humor as they prepare for the final showdown. As Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first leading role after leaving politics, it gave action fans a great tale from the modern American frontier. As much a comedy as a neo-Western, the inclusion of actors like Johnny Knoxville ensures a lighthearted lawman movie, and it pays homage to John Wayne-style films brilliantly.
The Highwaymen Is a Blend of Gangster and Neo-Western
The Highwaymen tells the true story behind the hunt for notorious Great Depression-era criminals Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker after their gang busts Clyde out of custody. Leaving a trail of bodies in their wake, they set off across the South, spurring the governor of Texas to hire a pair of retired Texas Rangers to hunt them down. Using old-school investigation skills, they move from state to state tracking the crooks, culminating in the showdown that brought Bonnie and Clyde’s crime spree to an end.
As one of the best Kevin Costner movies of the last decade, The Highwaymen does a great job of deconstructing the image most viewers have of Bonnie and Clyde. Abandoning Hollywood’s romantic treatment of the pair, the film uses a neo-Western aesthetic to give viewers a detective story for the ages, one of Netflix’s best originals of all time.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Is an Underrated Anthology Gem
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs presents audiences with six tales from the Old West, each one bringing its own style and tone. Covering stories like an outlaw set to be hanged, to the life of a gold prospector, the film satirizes and lightly parodies different sub-genres. Playing on the unfairness, brutality, and chaos of the Wild West, the film finds humor in grim situations, using death, violence, and fate to give audiences a chuckle at how life turns out for its characters.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs explores different corners of the Western genre through each segment, from singing cowboys to dastardly outlaws. Assembling an incredible cast for the project, including Tim Blake Nelson, James Franco, Liam Neeson and Brendan Gleeson, the film is one of the more artsy Westerns audiences will find on streaming.
Back to the Future Part III Concludes a Perfect Trilogy
Back to the Future follows the story of Doc Brown and Marty McFly through their time-travel misadventures, leaving viewers on a cliffhanger as Doc is sent back to 1885 at the end of the second film. The third opens with Marty tracking down his friend’s 1955 counterpart to help him return to the past and bring him home to the present. When he arrives, he learns of a feud between Doc and despicable outlaw Buford “Mad Dog” Tannen, Biff’s ancestor. As they inadvertently change the course of history, Emmett tries to use the limited tech of the Old West to send Marty back to 1985.
The conclusion of Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale’s Back to the Future trilogy, the film ensured that fans were left on a perfect note of hope and friendship. A light combination of steampunk, science fiction, romance and buddy adventure, the movie is a perfect example of the Wild West for the whole family, something hard to find in the genre.
Wind River Is a Harrowing Detective Movie
Wind River begins with the discovery of a murdered Native American woman, Natalie Hanson, on the Wind River Reservation. In response, Wish and Wildlife agent Cory Lambert teams up with FBI agent Jane Banner to piece the story together and solve her murder. As their investigation continues, they find another body, eventually leading them to suspect the involvement of workers at a nearby drilling station.
Drawing parallels between past and present injustices against Native Americans, Wind River does a good job of highlighting an often overlooked modern crime crisis. Perfect for people who enjoy stories like True Detective, it leads the audience down a murder investigation that issure to leave them rattled. The third entry in Taylor Sheridan’s New American Frontier trilogy, it helped pave the way for his incredible Yellowstone franchise, building up his legacy as the man who redefined the modern West for Hollywood.
High Plains Drifter Is Clint Eastwood’s Darkest Movie
High Plains Drifter begins when a nameless rider enters the desert town of Lago, where he guns down a trio of hired shooters in self-defense. The town leaders then explain they hired the men to defend against a gang on their way back from prison, and offer the stranger anything if he’d defend them instead. Taking advantage of the offer, he begins to humiliate the locals, taking charge of their town and making enemies of them. As he sleeps, he dreams of the murder of their old marshal, hinting that his motivations are darker than he’s let on.
Clint Eastwood made a lot of dark Westerns during his career, but few come close to the haunting nature of High Plains Drifter. Casting him as his most violent, vengeful, and morally grey gunslinger, it doubles as a revisionist revenge masterpiece and horror Western, giving his fans something unique. It isn’t for everyone, but people who love the darker side of the genre will treasure this ’70s icon.
The Hateful Eight Is a Western Murder Mystery
The Hateful Eight begins when a bounty hunter named John Ruth picks up a black gunslinger, Marquis Warren, who boards his stagecoach along with his prisoner, Daisy Domergue. After finding another stranger, a former Confederate who’s been appointed town sheriff, they seek refuge from a blizzard in Minnie’s Habberdashery, a small cabin by a mountain. There, they encounter more drifters, each one more suspicious than the last. When someone poisons the coffee and kills some of the men, the survivors try to figure out who among them is the killer.
A love-letter to John Carpenter’s The Thing and TV Westerns like Bonanza, the movie plays brilliantly on mystery and paranoia. A rarity in that it gives audiences a whodunit set in the Old West, the film is one of Tarantino’s best scripts to date, building up each of its characters to represent a different trope or archetype of the genre. The characters are some of the best in the director’s career, and the cast gives viewers an eccentric and intense mystery to sink their teeth into.
True Grit Is Frontier Justice at Its Finest
True Grit focuses on fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross as she travels to Fort Smith, Arkansas, in search of help avenging her father, who was murdered by outlaw Tom Chaney. Her quest leads her to Rooster Cogburn, an aged marshal with a reputation for shooting first and asking questions later. Along with a Texas Ranger hunting Chaney over the murder of a senator, she and Rooster embark on an epic journey into Indian territory.
Based on Charles Portis’ novel, True Grit is a brilliant exploration of the revenge Western, pushing the audience to question the difference between vengeance and justice. Through Rooster, the Coen Brothers masterfully deconstruct the classic gunslinger only to build it up in glorious fashion, making True Grit one of the greatest Western adventures ever made.
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