The Harder They Fall reviews have been falling in hard, and they are nothing but grand. After two weeks at the cinema, the film finally made its Netflix debut on 3 November 2021, and fans are loving it.
Based on real-life characters of cowboys, lawmen, and outlaws of the 19th-century American West, Netflix says the film “spotlights the wild west that many didn’t know actually existed.” The Netflix original appears to have landed well with film enthusiasts, standing out particularly for its all-black cast and what has been described as a “bad a**” soundtrack.
Not only is The Bullitts-helmed revisionist western doing well with the audience, but the film is also eating good with film critics, as it is certified fresh with an 86% score on review aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes.
What exactly is being said about the film, though? Keep reading to find out.
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Positive reviews
High Maintenance Boyfriend (@toluspinnn) on Twitter is so smitten by the soundtrack, and they think it is the best thing about the flick. “Whoever selected those songs they played in The Harder They Fall deserve a special pay, that’s the best thing about the movie,” they tweeted.
For another user, @chiefintoit, it was the women in the cast who won their heart. They said: “The harder they fall is one of the best movies I’ve seen this year on Netflix!!! Zazie Beetz & Regina King are absolute queens in this movie.” The crown does sit well on their heads. Long may they reign.
“Stylish and inventive. This isn’t a biopic, but a historical corrective…a cinematic clawback and the coolest movie of the year,” says Shawn Edwards of
Fox 4 Kansas City, scoring the film 5/5.
Top Critic, Rosana Hadadi, praised and subtly chided the film, saying, “There are joys throughout The Harder They Fall, and the film is entertaining enough for the most part. But its overly glossy slickness and its 130-minute runtime are distractions.”
The Cosmic Nomad (@thecosmicnomad) didn’t even try to contain their excitement about the film. They gushed away, “The Harder They Fall, 9/10. Great revenge story, great main characters and side characters that really mattered. Loved how Nat Love’s story was told. Rufus Buck, a great villain. You can’t not love westerns with such a great soundtrack. Have to read up on the characters. Amazing.”
Negative reviews
Of course, the entire world can’t feel the same way about anything. Add that to the fact that perfection is a tall order, especially in creative arts. Some critics and viewers didn’t speak so glowingly of the film, and here are some of their views.
“Static and slow, the movie feels even longer than its 137-minute length. Part of that is all the exposition. But it’s also Jeymes Samuel’s many directorial self-indulgences,” said Mark Feeney, a top critic at Boston Globe.
Twitter user, KhuneDraggr (@kdraggr) had a different kind of bone to pick with the film. “The harder they fall was good. My only dislike WAS THE BIRACIAL WOMAN WHO PLAYED STAGE COACH MARY. Stage Coach Mary was a DARKSINNED black woman. That was hella disrespectful,” they ranted.
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Chris Spivey of Darker Hue Studios said, “The movie begins by saying they were real, and this film is fictionalized, but The Harder They Fall does more than change their stories. It erases the people and replaces them with stock western characters in the vein of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. 3/11.”
Film critic Ty Burr was not impressed either, stating that the film “wobbles between witty homage and ugly Tarantinoid overkill, resulting in a movie that looks like it was more fun to make than it is to watch.”
In Matt Goldberg’s review for Collider.com, where he states that Big-Time actors can’t elevate a bland Western, he insists that “the main problems with The Harder They Fall are that it doesn’t tell a compelling story or have interesting characters. Samuel has created a film bursting with talent and potential and then doesn’t really do anything with it other than give it some visual flair.” Matt added, rather harshly, that the film is among the many forgettable Westerns. Ouch!
Conclusion
If there is one thing that can’t be taken away from The Harder They Fall, it is the fact that it is a breath of fresh air. The film has proven Hollywood wrong, showing a fully black main cast can succeed. On top of that, the film has been well received by film critics and audiences alike. It is, therefore, definitely a success. Make sure to see it for yourself when you can, and maybe add your voice to the feedback.
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