The Harder They Fall – Film Review

When outlaw Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) discovers that his enemy Rufus Buck (Idris Elba) is being released from prison he rounds up his gang to track Rufus down and seek revenge. Those riding with him in this assured, righteously new school Western include his former love Stagecoach Mary (Zazie Beetz), his right and left-hand men–hot-tempered Bill Pickett (Edi Gathegi) and fast drawing Jim Beckwourth (R.J. Cyler)–and a surprising adversary-turned-ally. Rufus Buck has his own fearsome crew, including “Treacherous” Trudy Smith (Regina King) and Cherokee Bill (Lakeith Stanfield), and they are not a group that knows how to lose.

The first ten minutes of The Hardey They Fall caused me to do a quick Google search because I thought this may have been a brand new Quentin Tarantino film that I somehow did not hear about. The same kind of trademarked Tarantino style is showcased in full in this film, but alas, it was not directed by him but rather Jeymes Samuel, who previously helmed a Western short film titled They Die by Dawn. Mainly, though, he is a musician.

This is why this brand new film of his took me by complete surprise. Here is a director that doesn’t have tons of films under his belt, making a film that feels like a director’s Western magnum opus. The Hardey They Fall is an incredibly stylish, action-packed, often hilarious and often emotional thrill-ride that rarely lets up, thanks to the extremely clever writing on display, as well as the all-star cast of actors who certainly know what they’re doing and make it look easy.

Screenwriters Samuel and Boaz Yakin reel you in almost instantly with a blood-curdling opening scene that truly gets you in the mood to see some good old-fashioned revenge on-screen. The main character Nat Love gets a ton of much needed and much-appreciated character development throughout the course of the film. On the surface, he looks like a completely bullet-proof badass who doesn’t let anything or anybody get to him.

But later on, we learn that’s not necessarily the case. He has an incredibly tragic past and we don’t get to see the full extent of that until about the final ten minutes which truly packs a punch. Seeing his dangerous and lively journey was a blast and it was quite apparent to me that every single actor involved with this project had a total blast with it. Majors is absolutely terrific as to be expected. Idris Elba truly shines in the villain role here – you genuinely get the sense that if you got on his bad side, it would only spell trouble for you.

And who knew Zazie Beetz could have such a feisty role while also being cool, calm, and collected? I have been a big fan of her work ever since seeing her in Deadpool 2 and it’s been amazing to see just how far she has come. She’s gotten her fair share of incredible projects (Joker, for example) and this one is certainly no exception. Regina King is a revelation here, as is Lakeith Stanfield and Delroy Lindo.

It’s miraculous just how star-studded this cast is and yet in this movie, you barely recognize them mainly because their characters are all so expertly developed. By the time the explosive and riveting third act comes into play, I’d be surprised if you weren’t practically salivating to see how it all comes to a close. There are some scenes leading up to the third act that do feel disappointingly dull and there are certain scenes in the middle that I honestly disliked quite a bit. They could’ve removed them entirely. But for the most part, the journey was exhilarating.

The Harder They Fall is truly a movie that you do not want to miss. That quote gets thrown around a lot – trust me, I know – but I wholeheartedly mean it when I say that this movie was an incredible surprise. When I first saw the trailer a few months back, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Westerns aren’t usually my kind of thing, but this film proved to me that with the right creative team behind the camera and the right stars, Westerns are actually quite great.