The Western Genre Is Making a Thrilling 21st Century Comeback

The Western film genre has always been well-liked in the United States. This variety of movies has been around since the late 1800s and has had a huge presence in Hollywood during the silent film era. It only increased in popularity with the leap to “talkies,” and eventually to the small screen in the decades following.

But in the ’60s and ’70s, they began to drop off, with audiences shifting tastes to something different, with the rise of the science fiction genre. However, with the introduction of streaming platforms in the 1990s, Westerns began to make a comeback.  Two films were even awarded the top prize at the Academy Awards – “Dances with Wolves” (1990) took home the statue and “Unforgiven” (1992) took the honor.

People typically think of actors like Clint Eastwood, Gary Cooper, Henry Fonda, and John Wayne when they think of Westerns. The settings often found people in old Gold Rush towns, cattle drive trails, and popular stagecoach routes. In the days of the Wild West, lawmen were trying to stop bandits and gangs from robbing banks, cattle ranchers, people, stagecoaches, and trains. (If superheroes are more your thing, don’t miss the trailer for “Captain America: Brave New World.” The movie will be released in February 2025.)

National agencies like the FBI didn’t exist, which often left the local authorities to keep the peace, which often resulted in a cat-and-mouse game between sheriffs and the criminals they were trying to stop. The film industry captures these stories in movies, focusing on the fine line between good and evil, heroes and the villains they aimed to stop, and life in the Old West with settlers trying to start a new life on the other side of the Mississippi, despite the dangers.

Some of these movies are based on true crimes or people, such as movies about Wild West gang members like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Other movies focused on fictional stories that fit for the time, such as “True Grit” and Rooster Cogburn, a lawman determined to seek justice for a murder after a young teen asks for his help. ( Meet some of the greatest Western characters .)

To determine the best Westerns in modern cinema, 24/7 Tempo developed an index of movies using average ratings on IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon, and a combination of audience scores and Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, as of March 2024, weighting all ratings equally. Only Western films released since 2010 with at least 5,000 ratings on either IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes were considered (documentaries were omitted).

40. The Kid (2019)

Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate Films

• IMDb user rating: 5.9/10 (8,816 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 47% (284 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 43% (46 reviews)

39. Chaos Walking (2021)

Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate Films

• IMDb user rating: 5.7/10 (32,320 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 71% (1,170 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 22% (143 reviews)

38. For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada (2012)

Source: Courtesy of ARC Entertainment

• IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (5,202 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 77% (28,154 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 20% (49 reviews)

37. Brimstone (2016)

Source: Courtesy of Momentum Pictures

• IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (38,510 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 53% (1,946 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 43% (77 reviews)

36. The Longest Ride (2015)

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

• IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (79,607 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 71% (30,184 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 31% (124 reviews)

35. The Last Stand (2013)

Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate Films

• IMDb user rating: 6.3/10 (136,285 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 53% (40,464 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 61% (167 reviews)

34. Frontera (2014)

Source: Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

• IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (7,732 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 59% (1,788 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 54% (24 reviews)

33. Woman Walks Ahead (2017)

Source: Courtesy of A24

• IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (7,562 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 61% (352 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 53% (38 reviews)

32. Free State of Jones (2016)

Source: Courtesy of STX Entertainment

• IMDb user rating: 6.9/10 (58,912 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 64% (20,890 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 48% (191 reviews)

31. The Keeping Room (2014)

Source: Courtesy of Drafthouse Films

• IMDb user rating: 6.0/10 (6,782 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 50% (1,804 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 74% (86 reviews)

30. The Wind (2018)

Source: Courtesy of IFC Midnight

• IMDb user rating: 5.6/10 (7,188 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 50% (267 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 81% (70 reviews)

29. In a Valley of Violence (2016)

Source: Courtesy of Focus World

• IMDb user rating: 6.0/10 (17,051 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 51% (4,127 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 77% (69 reviews)

28. The Beguiled (2017)

Source: Courtesy of Focus Features

• IMDb user rating: 6.3/10 (55,191 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 48% (14,017 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79% (326 reviews)

27. Forsaken (2015)

Source: Courtesy of Momentum Pictures

• IMDb user rating: 6.3/10 (11,075 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (4,214 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 42% (45 reviews)

26. The Ballad of Lefty Brown (2017)

Source: Courtesy of A24

• IMDb user rating: 6.3/10 (6,038 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 54% (604 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 79% (29 reviews)

25. The Dressmaker (2016)

Source: Courtesy of Broad Green Pictures

• IMDb user rating: 7.0/10 (63,570 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 66% (10,053 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 59% (144 reviews)

24. The Homesman (2014)

Source: Courtesy of Roadside Attractions

• IMDb user rating: 6.6/10 (32,085 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 52% (14,247 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 80% (156 reviews)

23. The Hero (2017)

Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate Home Entertainment

• IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (8,945 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 59% (6,992 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 77% (115 reviews)

22. The Highwaymen (2019)

Source: Courtesy of Netflix

• IMDb user rating: 6.9/10 (93,357 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 73% (1,456 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 58% (140 reviews)

21. Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (2013)

Source: Courtesy of IFC Films

• IMDb user rating: 6.4/10 (21,280 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 61% (12,243 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 77% (133 reviews)

20. Meek’s Cutoff (2010)

Source: Courtesy of Oscilloscope

• IMDb user rating: 6.5/10 (14,321 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 53% (9,338 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 86% (130 reviews)

19. The Magnificent Seven (2016)

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

• IMDb user rating: 6.9/10 (199,147 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 72% (49,291 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 64% (315 reviews)

18. Hostiles (2017)

Source: Courtesy of Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures

• IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (77,767 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 75% (5,554 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 71% (224 reviews)

17. The Sisters Brothers (2018)

Source: Courtesy of Annapurna Distribution

• IMDb user rating: 6.9/10 (59,919 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 69% (2,624 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 87% (208 reviews)

16. Let Him Go (2020)

Source: Courtesy of Focus Features

• IMDb user rating: 6.7/10 (20,705 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 76% (1,212 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 84% (192 reviews)

15. Rango (2011)

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

• IMDb user rating: 7.2/10 (248,597 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 69% (120,344 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88% (222 reviews)

14. The Hateful Eight (2015)

Source: Courtesy of The Weinstein Company

• IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (550,683 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 76% (73,769 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 74% (337 reviews)

13. First Cow (2019)

Source: Courtesy of A24

• IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (14,747 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 63% (521 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (208 reviews)

12. Bone Tomahawk (2015)

Source: Courtesy of RLJ Entertainment

• IMDb user rating: 7.1/10 (93,087 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 74% (13,750 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (98 reviews)

11. The Power of the Dog (2021)

Source: Courtesy of Netflix

• IMDb user rating: 6.8/10 (191,000 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 76% (50 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (362 reviews)

10. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

Source: Courtesy of Netflix

• IMDb user rating: 7.3/10 (133,130 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 77% (3,708 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 89% (234 reviews)

9. The Revenant (2015)

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

• IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (809,924 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (105,559 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 78% (401 reviews)

8. News of the World (2020)

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

• IMDb user rating: 6.8/10 (74,696 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (1,590 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 88% (263 reviews)

7. Lucky (2017)

Source: Courtesy of Eureka Entertainment

• IMDb user rating: 7.4/10 (21,622 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 81% (4,352 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (151 reviews)

6. The Rider (2017)

Source: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

• IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (17,308 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 82% (2,068 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (185 reviews)

5. Wind River (2017)

Source: Courtesy of Ascot Elite Entertainment Group

• IMDb user rating: 7.7/10 (223,961 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (29,613 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 87% (253 reviews)

4. Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

• IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (155,013 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 84% (2,500 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (449 reviews)

3. True Grit (2010)

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

• IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (323,355 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 85% (158,421 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (275 reviews)

2. Hell or High Water (2016)

Source: Courtesy of Lionsgate

• IMDb user rating: 7.6/10 (214,372 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (40,252 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (283 reviews)

1. Django Unchained (2012)

Source: Courtesy of The Weinstein Company

• IMDb user rating: 8.4/10 (1,427,183 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (429,752 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 87% (291 reviews)

The post The Western Genre Is Making a Thrilling 21st Century Comeback appeared first on 24/7 Tempo .