The Harder They Fall (2021) Movie Review
The Harder They Fall is the directorial debut for Jeymes Samuel. He tackles a fun genre twist for his first feature film with a Western featuring a mainly black cast. This cast is absolutely chock full of big name stars, which made it a blast to watch. The opening scene we watch as a young boy named Nat Love witnesses his parents being murdered by a man named Rufus Buck (Idris Elba). It’s a pretty gruesome opening scene and if you don’t like intense scenes, especially ones involving children, you might not like it. But we then flash to present day and a fully grown Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) is attempting to track down Buck to take his revenge.
That’s the gist of the whole plot but Samuel tries to keep it interesting by adding in several more plot lines. Love reunites with his former lover Mary Fields (Zazie Beetz) and his two sidekicks, Bill Pickett (Edi Gathegi) and the quick drawing Jim Beckwourth (RJ Cyler). Pickett and Beckwourth have apparently stolen a large sum of money that just happens to belong to Buck. This sets Love and Buck on the same path. However, Buck is in prison and there’s a very fun train scene where his sidekicks Trudy Smith (Regina King) and Cherokee Bill (Lakeith Stanfield) break him free.
The rest of the movie is your classic revenge story. Love is trying to track down Buck to get revenge for his murdered parents. Buck is a sinister man who seems intent on harnessing his reputation to wield power throughout the West. Elba brings a physical presence that’s intimidating and makes Buck’s fury believable. The outlier plot lines are kind of unnecessary but they weave together fine enough to keep you engaged. The Harder They Fall flips the Western genre and gives an all star cast the chance to flex their cowboy muscles. With such an outstanding cast, it was supremely enjoyable to watch this one.
The violence was pretty over the top, with obvious nods to the styles of Tarantino and Matthew Vaughn. There was nothing too gruesome so if you’re not a fan of violence you should still be able to stomach it. The best (and most entertaining) fight sequence is between Trudy Smith and Mary Field. Regina King and Zazie Beetz give it their absolute all and the result is spectacularly fun. The choreography is quick and tight and was one of the more creative hand to hand fight scenes I’ve seen in a while. It’s also intercut with a larger gun fight and the pacing and editing were incredible.
There were plenty of comedic moments interspersed throughout the movie as well. My favorite was Jim Beckwourth who is obsessed with going head to head with Cherokee Bill who is rumored to be the fastest draw in the West. RJ Cyler gives one of his best performances as the young and cocky kid eager to prove himself. He steals scenes and is generally one of the more memorable characters in the movie. The Harder They Fall is a marvelous first feature for Samuel and he has cemented himself as a director to watch. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here, but he’s proven he’s got the ability to craft an entertaining movie.
It lagged a bit in moments because of the overly long runtime of two hours and 19 minutes. About twenty minutes could have been shaved off and the pacing would have been helped immensely. It tries a little too hard to be excessively violent without actually pulling it off. But these are minor critiques that won’t detract from your overall enjoyment much. I also found the soundtrack to be very compelling, but some might be distracted by the infusion of hip hop songs into the Western genre. This is not your classic Western and the soundtrack ensures you won’t forget it. Personally, the soundtrack added some life to otherwise dull scenes and gave some much needed zest to the overall tone of the movie. It worked well and you can see the influence working on the music for The Great Gatsby had on Samuel. He pulls a similar energy and feeling in terms of the soundtrack for his first feature film.
Overall, The Harder They Fall is a lot of fun and a unique twist on traditional Westerns. Getting to see some of my favorite actors as cowboys and cowgirls in the wild West was refreshing and the cast put in some strong performances. If you like Westerns, this is one you won’t want to miss.
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You like Westerns
2. You like violent action sequences
3. You like revenge stories
