VanityFair.com: It’s finally time we made it official: Chris Pine, jewel-eyed Star Trek hunk and onetime romantic foil for Lindsay Lohan, is a fine actor. We saw that in last year’s Z for Zachariah, and we see it here again in the similarly Southern-tinged (or, in this case, Texan-tinged) crime drama Hell or High Water, in which Pine plays one half of a brother-brother bank-robbing duo with a flinty stare belying a manly goodness. His brother, the volatile, devil-may-care one required of these kinds of movies, is played with effective energy by Ben Foster, but it’s Pine, with his terse solidity, who really makes an impression. Well, Jeff Bridges does too, as a rascally (and kinda racist?) Texas ranger on the hunt for the brothers, who are trying to raise capital to save their family’s ranch. Starred Up director David Mackenzie helms with muscle and panache, in both bracing action scenes and quieter moments of introspection, all framed gorgeously by cinematographer Giles Nuttgens. Sicario writer Taylor Sheridan’s script is sometimes not quite as profound as it thinks it’s being, but it has a nice way with words, lacing a pulpy modern-day western with traces of loss and despair. Hell or High Water opens in the States in August, so if you’re looking for a summer flick that doesn’t involve the destruction of entire cities but still packs a punch, this is a good bet.

Chris was decked out in a black suit and bowtie as he attended the premiere of his film Hell or High Water at the 69th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France on May 16th. You can view photos from the event in our gallery now.

So far the reviews coming in from Cannes Film Festival paint Chris in a very positive light regarding his role in Hell or High Water, which makes me extremely proud. Check out some quotes below:

Variety.com: Directed by Daniel Mackenzie, from a script by Taylor Sheridan (who wrote “Sicario”), it’s a gripping independent production that, with its fusion of offbeat star power and audacious storytelling, has the potential to be a mainstream hit, and possibly an awards contender.

Chris Pine, with his moody sleek glamour and bright blue bedroom eyes, has struggled to find serious dramatic roles that fit him as snugly as Captain Kirk, and this one is undoubtedly his breakthrough. As Toby, who’s divorced with two kids he hasn’t seen for a year, Pine is playing a sexy bad boy with some mileage on him, and he’s quietly mesmerizing. Toby knows how to spring into action, but his downbeat look expresses the pain of every mistake he’s ever made. Ben Foster, wearing a biker ‘stache and a spooked stare that dares you to stare back, makes Tanner an even badder boy, a thief who has spent years in prison and doesn’t have the patience — or faith — to go straight. He’s a sociopathic screwup who knows he’s a screwup (which sort of redeems him).

TheGuardian.com: Mackenzie’s direction and Giles Nuttgens’s cinematography create a kind of horizontal vertigo in the dizzying sweep of the landscape and there is a great soundtrack with original music by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. It’s an action-thriller with punch; Bridges gives the characterisation ballast and heft and Pine and Foster bring a new, grizzled maturity to their performances.

Telegraph.co.uk: Pine, ever-improving, notches up new respect here for his stalwart underplaying, and Foster’s on fire: his late action scene with a machine gun is hilariously bad-ass, and shot with satisfying, let’s-do-this verve by Giles Nuttgens. The film also shares a cast member the Coens used: a venerable Texan actress called Margaret Bowman, who gets one film-stealing scene, credited as “T-Bone Waitress” – she spits out her lines with such deadly sass it’s only fair not to spoil her punchlines.

Chris (who looked so very handsome) along with his Hell or High Water co-star Ben Foster and film director David Mackenzie posed for the press at the photocall for the film at the 69th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France on May 16th. You can find hundreds of photos from the photocall in our gallery now.

I’ve added some newly released stills of Chris from the upcoming drama Hell Or High Water which is set for an August release. Check out the high resolution photos in our gallery now.