Summary
- TV kingpin Taylor Sheridan's action movie, "Those Who Wish Me Dead," featuring Angelina Jolie, was forgotten despite its acclaimed director and A-list cast.
- Sheridan's focus on TV and his numerous shows have diverted his attention from movies, despite the success of his previous films.
- "Those Who Wish Me Dead" follows the formula of "Die Hard," with a troubled protagonist trapped in a unique location and relying on their wits to survive, but it failed to make an impact at the box office, likely due to its release during the COVID-19 pandemic.
TV kingpin Taylor Sheridan directed Angelina Jolie and an A-list cast in a big 2021 action movie - which has somehow already been forgotten. Around a decade ago, Sheridan was a working actor best known for a ing role in Sons of Anarchy. Now, he's known for writing and directing acclaimed thrillers like Sicario and Wind River and running massively successful shows like Yellowstone and its many spinoffs.
Sheridan appears to be a workaholic because in addition to the many shows he already has on the air, he will occasionally announce a new one too. Given his hefty workload, Sheridan has been largely absent from movies for a little while. The success of Wind River suggested a bright future for Sheridan as the director of stripped-down, R-rated thrillers, but the runaway success of Yellowstone has seen Sheridan's attention pulled towards TV.
Every Taylor Sheridan TV Show (And Movie)
Here's everything to know about Taylor Sheridan's shows and movies, including Yellowstone season 5, part 2, and Yellowstone spin-off, 6666.
Those Who Wish Me Dead Was Taylor Sheridan's Take On Die Hard
Those Who Wish Me Dead. This 2021 action thriller is based on a novel by Michael Koryta and involves Angelina Jolie's "smokejumper" firefighter having to protect a young boy chased by assassins. Despite featuring a prestigious ensemble cast - including Jon Bernthal, Nicolas Hoult and Aidan Gillen - Those Who Wish Me Dead is essentially Sheridan's version of Die Hard.
Those Who Wish Me Dead is currently streaming on Max and Tubi
It features a troubled protagonist trapped in a unique location (in this case, the heroes must escape a forest fire in the Montana wilderness) and having to rely on their wits to survive. While it lacks the gloss of other "Die Hard on an X" movies like Under Siege, Those Who Wish Me Dead still follows the same formula. Gillen and Hoult also make an impression as the merciless villains of the story, who have no issue with murdering anyone who gets in the way of their contract.
Those Who Wish Me Dead Bombed Despite Being Angelina Jolie's Action Comeback
The big selling point of Those Who Wish Me Dead was it marked Jolie's first action movie since Salt. There was a time when the star dipped in and out of action movies regularly (Tomb Raider, Wanted, etc), but Sheridan's film was her first action role in over a decade. Unfortunately, the film was released to theaters amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2021 and was part of Warner Bros' strategy of releasing films in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously. The film came in third on its opening weekend, behind Spiral: From the Book of Saw and Jason Statham's Wrath of Man.
The movie wound up grossing a meager $7 million domestically, with its worldwide total being $23 million. It should be stated many new releases underperformed during this period, including Spiral, but following a lackluster opening, Those Who Wish Me Dead was quickly forgotten. It also appears there was little interest in an R-rated, non-effects-driven Die Hard riff during this time too, which is a pity. Those Who Wish Me Dead is a tense action movie with a great cast, but it's become one of Sheridan's lesser-known works.
