The Harder They Fall (2021)

Top comments

1. 

   Siskoid

   Hard to believe The Harder They Fall is music producer Jeymes Samuel's first full-length feature because wow, what a great western. I see a lot of people comparing it to Tarantino's style, and yeah, it has something of both Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained to it, but that's mostly because it uses the same inspiration - blaxploitation films of the 70s. Where Samuel does better than Q-T is that not once is the n-word allowed to be spoken (Trudy wouldn't have it). The villains in this (Idris Elba, Regina King, Lakeith Stanfield) are so damn cool, you're not sure you shouldn't be siding with them against the nevertheless sympathetic heroes (Jonathan "Kang" Majors, Zazie "Domino" Beetz, Delroy Lindo, and Danielle Deadwyler as "Cuffy", a name with a nice Pam Greer inspiration). But it's the setting that's the coolest thing. You never see black towns in the Old West, but they existed, and I love the contrast between a colorful and sadly short-lived new world and the hilarious "white town" that suddenly makes an appearance. Because this isn't just about a black cast, it's about a black world, white people very much on the periphery. And in the final confrontation of this revenge story, we get something that's got a bit of a metaphorical kick to it as a result. And no surprise, but the soundtrack is uncommonly great. 2 years 5 months ago
2. 

   Warrison

   Is netflix learning how to finish movies? seems so. the first few netflix movies I watched seemed fine at the beginning and then fell apart towards the end. I enjoyed this all the way through 2 years 5 months ago
3. 

   ucuruju

   The movie has charm, but it's the kind of western a twelve year old plays out in his backyard. Gunslingers never miss unless they are standing right next to a character the story can't get rid of yet. Women are strong and independent until they have to be turned into damsels in distress to stretch the readymade plot. Villains are ruthless and take no prisoners unless the script wants them to. This film breathes and speaks in clichés. The only difference is that the characters are black-- which the film never really explores. This is not a revisionist western-- it's a fantasy not stylized enough for it to work as a fantasia a la Johnny Guitar or other colorful classics. Which is fine. It's not a bad movie. Just nothing you haven't basically seen a thousand times before.
   
   Also:

   Idris Elba revealing he was his brother came out of nowhere-- and even so!-- it was completely obvious almost as soon as he started talking. Why? Because the movie only goes towards familiar places.

   2 years 5 months ago

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