Review: The Harder They Fall

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Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) is an outlaw who discovers the man (Idris Elba) that murdered his parents and maimed his face is free from prison. He and his crew are ready for revenge.

Full disclosure, I hate Westerns. They've never been for me, and Hell and High Water and the 3:10 To Yuma remake are the only two Westerns that I can think of off the top of my head that I've enjoyed enough to watch multiple times. But the CAST in this one. Regina King, LaKeith Stanfield, Zazie Beetz, RJ Cyler, Danielle Deadwyler, Delroy Lindo. Easy sell for me. 

I definitely like this more than 98% of the Westerns I've seen. It's very stylish. The cinematography is excellent, though sometimes the editing is a bit strange, but it was fun to look at. The cast is of course phenomenal. It's hard to *hate* Idris Elba when he looks this good, but it's always easy to get behind Jonathan Majors. 

The only issue I had with it was the pacing, it really drags at certain points in the back half of the film. It failed to build tension to make those quieter moments flow, but overall this was a good watch and I'm glad it's on Netflix where everyone can check it out.

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B-

Memorable Quote: "How long you been alive in this country? A rock and a hard place is what we call Monday." - Trudy (Regina King)

Comments

  1. thevoid99November 15, 2021 at 3:53 PM

    I might see this as I'm a sucker for a good western. You're not into the Dollars trilogy by Sergio Leone w/ Clint Eastwood? Once Upon a Time in the West? Those are the westerns to see.

    ReplyDelete
  2. keith71_98November 16, 2021 at 8:14 AM

    I was pretty disappointed in this one. Really liked the cast and certain elements of the story. But as you said, it really drags in spots. Also, why was Elba put on the shelf for so much of the second half? That was a bummer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamNovember 17, 2021 at 7:38 AM

      That was really strange! He's not in this very much at all. It's like Concrete Cowboy all over again.

      Delete
  3. Candice FrederickNovember 16, 2021 at 9:03 AM

    the pacing does go up and down, but i also thought it was entertaining

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamNovember 17, 2021 at 7:37 AM

      Same. With a lesser cast this would've been a bore, but they keep it going

      Delete

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