Netflix is on a mission to make cowboys cool.

After the success of The Power Of The Dog, which received a four-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival back in August, the streamer has released The Harder They Fall, its latest star-studded foray into the Wild West, which is available to watch now.

Directed by Jeymes Samuel and produced by none other than Jay-Z, whose music provides the film’s soundtrack, The Harder They Fall isn’t anything like the dusty old-style westerns we’re used to. And fans are loving what they’re seeing.

“#TheHarderTheyFall gives me chills each time I watch it,” wrote one fan. “The casting. The music.The acting. The accents. The story. The cinematography. The revised narrative. The lighting. The hair. The people. MY PEOPLE.”

“I watched #TheHarderTheyFall a few days ago & I’ve been saving my thoughts for my review but I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s SO much fun. It has everything I love about Westerns but also puts a fresh spin on it. More importantly, highlights people that have been ignored,” added another tweet.

Viewers also spotted a sweet tribute to Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, who passed away from cancer in 2020, in the name of a train carriage featured in the film.

The premise is a classic face-off between two fearless groups of cowboys and cowgirls.

Gunning for revenge, outlaw Nat Love saddles up with his gang to take down enemy Rufus Buck, a ruthless crime boss who just got sprung from prison.

According to the film’s official synopsis: “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 and his right and left hand men. Rufus Buck has his own fearsome crew, including “Treacherous” Trudy Smith (played by Regina King) and Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield), and they are not a group that knows how to lose.”

And if the action-packed trailer is anything to go by, the showdown is going to be epic.

The trailer teases all the lawless gun-slinging, bar brawling and desert fighting we love to see to the beat of new music from Jay Z and Kid Cudi.

“A new day is dawning,” King’s straight-talking cowgirl “Treacherous” Trudy Smith declares in the height of the trailer’s action, and we’ve certainly never seen a western that looks quite this good.

Well played, Netflix.

The flick boasts a seriously impressive and all-Black lead cast. Alongside Elba, Majors and King, LaKeith Stanfield, Zazie Beetz, Delroy Lindo, RJ Cyler and Edi Gathegi all take roles as part of the fearsome Wild West gangs.

The Harder They Fall is now available to watch on Netflix. 

Images: Netflix