The Harder They Fall: Netflix’s New Action-Packed Black Western [Review]

Grab a horse, saddle up and enjoy the ride. Jeymes Samuel’s (The Bullitts) Black-centric Western The Harder They Fall offers up a star-studded cast, filled with non-stop action. There are only so many ways that a war in the west can be won; nevertheless, that doesn’t cause Hollywood to shy away from revisiting the overused storyline. “While the events of this story are fictional…These. People. Existed,” the opening of the highly-intense movie. After being solely involved in the music industry, Samuel’s directorial debut came with an added freedom – using the names of real African-American cowboys and outlaws and putting them in bloody and chaotic scenarios. The final results of the film were always going to be close-to-epic, as the addition of Boaz Yakin being a sign of good things to come – after his writing credits for the blockbuster film, Now You See Me.

The opening scene of the film sees a family at their dinner table disturbed by a mysterious individual, who we later know to be Rufus Buck (Idris Elba), leader of the multi-racial western gang ‘The Rufus Buck Gang’, who assassinates the man and woman, only leaving their young son alive, albeit with a permanent engraving of the biblical cross on his forehead. As opening scenes go, that was very…impactful and sets the tone for the rest of the upcoming scenes. The young boy Nat Love is now grown up and played by (Jonathan Majors), who if you are unaware of his talents then this film and his appearance on Disney + series Loki as “The Watcher” will give you a good introduction. The opening credits inform us that Nat Love (who actually existed) now has his fictional gang of outlaws ‘Nat Love Gang.’ Upon watching, you can instantly work out the plot – a man adventuring on a solo mission to avenge the killing of his parents, proving to be a tough ask with his loyal gang members not wanting to leave his side. The members include the brave Mary Fields (Zazie Beetz), composed Bill Pickett (Edi Gathegi), sharp-shooter Jim Beckworth (RJ Cycler), the unfazed Cuffee (Danielle Deadwyler), and the late addition of the elegant Bass Reeves (Delroy Lindo). Now, the six of them head on the mission to find the shooter’s posse and proclaim their sweet revenge. During this time, Rufus’ gang acquired leading lady Trudy Smith (Regina King) and the arrogant Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield).

Without much knowledge, it’s very easy to assume that this is one of the first Black western movies to be seen on our screens. In the late 1930s, Richard C. Khan directed the musical western known as, “Two Gun Man From Harlem” – with its impact being pivotal in the 70s, with two films titled “Buck and the Preacher” and “Thomasine and Bushrod, directed by Synder Portier and Gordon Parks Jr respectively. With The Harder They Fall co-produced by Shawn Carter (Jay-Z), it was almost inevitable that its attire and scenery would be layered with swagger and elegance, which it did. The cinematography of the film makes it unfortunate that it can only be seen in selected cinemas – the gory shoot-outs and the well-captured shots would’ve made it a joy to view on the big screen. Nonetheless, the new look of it will make it an enjoyable watch even if you watch from a 12-inch laptop screen. The screenplay was good, however, many layers were covered up by the constant pistol smoke and frantic situations that the two groups found themselves in. This and many are factors in which it won’t be seen as a movie that did the characters justice, merely an innovative reinvention with minor influences from its predecessors. In saying all this though, there are a few actors that can portray their character with complete ease in this movie – with Idris, Delroy and Regina being perfect examples, the three commanding your attention whenever the camera cut to them.

The film gifts us with a very beautiful shot of a train that was named as a tribute after the late and great, Chadwick A. Boseman, best known for his role as Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – a lovely touch for an icon to many. In October, Netflix and Howard university set up the 'Chadwick A Boseman Memorial Scholarship' that'll be on offer for students in the college of fine arts, covering a span of four years.

A few memorable moments of this film scene primarily come from the freeze-frames and split-screen, with the touch of an amazing soundtrack. It is peppered with Hip-Hop and Reggae tracks, setting the scene for the subsequent action. A good example of this was the addition of pioneering Nigerian artist Fela Kuti’s ‘Let’s Start’, being used for the last showdown between Mary Fields and Trudy Smith. The intro of the song comes with Fela translating the meaning of the song from his native language Yoruba to English, which means “let's start what we have come into the room to do,” a lovely way to commence the scene. A special addition to the soundtrack was U.K rapper BackRoad Gee and his feature in the song 'King Kong', which also included Jay-Z, Jadakiss and Conway The Machine – a big moment for him and the current UK rap scene.

Samuel’s attempt to squeeze in a love interest for Nat Love, with it being Mary Fields, came across forced and unnatural – with the relationship being overshadowed by the captivating visual scenes and performances.

Throughout the film, he latches onto a wedding ring that once belonged to his mother, with the possible thought of proposal in mind. That task is hard as with each intimate moment they share it gets halted or disturbed in an instant – and a meaningful connection for the two getting blown out of the water by the lack of focus around it.

As the film continued, we’re made to acknowledge Rufus’ plan to create a “promise land” in the all-Black town of Redwood, where everything is Black-owned. In films like these, trying to overhaul a town does come with sacrifices and blood-shed – which we see a lot of. The brutal ruthlessness that the Rufus Buck gang show is consistent throughout and comes without any remorse. Even though the film was fun to watch, the reasoning behind Rufus Buck's "promised land" seemed lost in vague reasoning with no clear purpose set out.

The final few scenes of the movie, especially involving Nat Love and Rufus Buck are filled with emotion and the discovery of an untold truth – whether it’s true or not, it gives you a feeling of “why do all this if that was the case?” The Harder They Fall had the potential to be one of the best, but with it being so fast-paced, it was quite difficult to resonate with many of the characters, which would've filled so many gaps with the interesting ones that we see.

As usual, the star names that surround the movie will do their best to make sure it creates waves across online streaming platforms – which I’m certain it’ll do. This is far from a bore-fest, and as a first attempt, Samuel’s will and should get praise for just that, an exhilarating film that has a lot of replay value.