Sean Bean's New Western Thriller With Villain Role Debuts To Solid Rotten Tomatoes Score

Published Jul 18, 2026, 11:16 PM EDT

Fariba Rezwan is a Lead Editor for the Movie News team. She has been with ScreenRant for nearly five years, with roles ranging from list editor to junior news editor. 

During that time, Fariba has led coverage for breaking movies and TV news, including Hunger Games, Marvel, and streaming. Additionally, she has actively provided commentary and reactions to the biggest movies and shows on her YouTube channel, The Movieception Show. 

The BAFTA winner has had an incredible movie and television career lasting over four decades. Some of his most iconic roles have been in the fantasy genre, including Ned Stark in Game of Thrones and Boromir in The Lord of the Rings. Furthermore, the actor has built a reputation for his characters' deaths on the big and small screens.

While Bean portrayed plenty of heroes, he also has his share of well-known antagonists, including Alec Trevelyan during Pierce Brosnan's James Bond era and treasure hunter Ian Howe in National Treasure. Now, the actor adds another villainous role to his growing list in the new Western, The Isolate Thief.

With the first eleven reviews so far, The Isolate Thief debuted at a solid 73% on Rotten Tomatoes. Aside from Deep Cover, the new Western movie is one of his better-rated movies in the last five years since Mummies, Knights of the Zodiac, and Anemone earned scores under 60%. Despite a limited theatrical release and availability on video-on-demand, there is no audience score at this time.

The Isolate Thief follows a young woman (Mackenzie Foy) whose property becomes an outpost for the Union Army. However, things take a turn when she steals a stash of gold, and it becomes a mission to survive against outlaws. The intense cat-and-mouse tale and subtle feminist subtleties intrigued most critics. While some argued that the film felt uninspired, Foy's strong performance and the battle of the sexes final act were the highlights of the Western thriller.

Bean portrays the main villain, Fiddler John Good, opposite Foy's heroine. While speaking with ScreenRant's Grant Hermanns, the actor revealed the long journey to making The Isolate Thief because the people involved took "quite a few years trying to raise the money." He applauded their perseverance, saying, "It took two or three years, but eventually, they managed to pull it together, and I was delighted to be part of it."

Meanwhile, he described Fiddler as a "puzzle," who acts as a gentleman to a few characters, but he "was also a kind of twisted, psychopathic, quasi-religious preacher man," so it keeps his intent a mystery to audiences. John Suits helmed the Western, with a screenplay penned by Kevin Lefler. Alongside Bean and Foy, the cast also features Odeya Rush, Joe Pantoliano, Jack Kesy, Ty Simpkins, and Martin Sensmeier.

Interestingly, it's not Bean's only antagonist role in recent years, having just portrayed the Sheriff of Nottingham. With a 77% score on Rotten Tomatoes, Robin Hood was renewed for season 2 on MGM+. Meanwhile, some of his upcoming projects include Rogue Trooper and The Yellow Tie.

Meanwhile, The Isolate Thief is one of the latest few projects, showcasing Foy as the leading star. Her breakout role was Edward Cullen and Bella Swan's daughter, Renesmee, in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2. Alongside a supporting role in Interstellar as a young Murph, the rising actor led The Nutcracker and the Four Realms and Black Beauty.

Despite its limited release, The Isolate Thief is available to rent or purchase on video-on-demand, such as Fandango at Home. There are no updates on when the Western movie will land on streaming.