When the guns go blazing in The Harder They Fall, it’s mainly accompanied by a mix of reggae and hip-hop beats instead of the usual Morricone-esque twangy guitars that we’ve come to associate with the Wild West. And I never realized how the hypnotic, groovy reggae beats fit a Western so perfectly until now. In his feature film directorial debut, Jeymes Samuel, who co-wrote and scored the film, echoes the all-time great Westerns that came before, taking inspiration from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and Posse, while adding his own unique voice to a tired, old genre. The result is an exhilarating, face-splatteringly violent revenge tale that feels exciting and new, and all presented with a certain palpable coolness and flair.

The film starts with Rufus Buck (Idris Elba) visiting a preacher’s home. And since this is a Western, we all know what happens next, because there’s only one thing that happens to families who get mysterious gun-toting visitors in this world. The preacher and his wife are immediately killed, afterwards their child gets marked on the forehead by the visitor with a crucifix as a parting gift. The lone child survivor is the hero of our story, Nat Love (Jonathan Majors), who grows up to be an outlaw with a gang of his own, robbing other bank robbers instead of the banks directly. He’s also caught up in a revenge mission, going after the people who murdered his parents. Joining him in his gang are saloon owner and Nat’s lover Stagecoach Mary (Zazie Beets), sharpshooter and rifleman Bill Pickett (Edi Gathegi), and Jim Beckwourth (RJ Cyler), a cocky pistol-twirling gunslinger who’s eager to prove his speed in duels.

Soon after, Nat learns from U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves (Delroy Lindo) that Rufus Buck, while being held captive inside an iron vault in a US cavalry controlled train, has been freed by his own gang led by Trudy Smith (Regina King) and Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield) in an elaborate train takeover. Nat and Bass, who arrested Rufus in the first place, form an unlikely alliance to take down Rufus and his gang for good. Samuel has built up this particular set piece with commanding tension. From the whole chase to the slow reveal of Rufus Buck (although it’s pretty obvious that it’s him), it takes a rare level of craftsmanship to stage a whole scene filled with memorable beauty and kinetic energy. It’s easily one of the action sequences that’s stayed with me long after the movie is over.

Although the movie’s focus mostly lie with Nat Love, the main hero of the story, Samuel fills the screen with an array of such cool characters that it’s only after the film has finished that you realize they had a limited screen time. LaKeith Stanfield effortlessly oozes charisma that he steals every scene he’s in even just by standing there. And Idris Elba’s imposing presence puts on an intimidating vibe to the screen. Bass Reeves may have sided with Nat Love, but the film reminds us that none of these people are good guys, as Samuel makes it clear throughout that these are rival gangs working on their own selfish interests, instead of a battle between good and evil.

As the movie tells us at the beginning, while the story featured here is purely fiction, Nat Love, Rufus Buck, Cherokee Bill, and almost all of these characters actually existed in real life. And some of them probably had more interesting stories than their fictional counterparts. For instance, Bass Reeves was one of the first Black U.S. Marshals and made more than 3,000 arrest in his lifetime. Stagecoach Mary was the first Black female mail carrier in the United States, all while fighting criminals she encountered on route. With The Harder The Fall, Samuel has made both a revisionist fan fiction and history lesson, but perhaps he also probably intended for viewers to look these people up afterwards to learn more about their real-life stories. And by creating an action-packed Western, he has also allowed traditionally excluded figures in this predominantly-white genre and history to be exposed to mainstream audiences.

The movie succeeds in creating a fun, colorful Western spectacle that has a single vision in mind, coupled with a diverse groovy soundtrack to accompany each menacing walk, staredown, quick-draw, and shootout. Every scene and every exchange in The Harder They Fall is beautifully crafted mayhem, shot flawlessly thanks to Mihai Mălaimare, Jr.’s cinematography. It’s one of those movies that instantly hooks you in because of how cool it looks, and one that you’ll often stay to the end because of its infectious energy. Things are looking even further up for Jeymes Samuel.

Rating: ★★★½