Is The Harder They Fall Kid Friendly? Parents Guide

Wondering if The Harder They Fall on Netflix is ok for kids? The Harder They Fall is rated R for extreme violence and language. Is The Harder They Fall kid friendly? No, in the first ten minutes, I saw enough blood and heard enough motherf-ers to make me want to watch something else. Here’s what parents need to know in this The Harder They Fall Parents Guide.

The Harder They Fall Parents Guide

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. When he was young Buck and his gang killed his parents, and Nat has spent his life killing those that were involved.

Those riding with Nat Love in this new school Western include his former love Stagecoach Mary (Zazie Beetz), his right and left hand men–hot-tempered Bill Pickett (Edi Gathegi) and fast drawing Jim Beckwourth (R.J. Cyler)–and a surprising adversary-turned-ally. Rufus Buck has his own fearsome crew, including Treacherous Trudy Smith (Regina King) and Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield), and they are not a group that knows how to lose.

What is The Harder They Fall Rated?

The Harder They Fall is rated R for violence and language, and it earns that R rating. 

Language

I lost count of the f-words by the first 15 minutes. There are a lot of uses of the f-word, mother fu*ker, sh*t, bullsh*t, a**, g-ddamn, bastard, and bit*h. 

Mature Content

There are a whole lot of killings. These cowboys are ruthless, and some of the scenes will be too much for kids and even teens to watch. A family begs for their lives and are murdered. Parents are killed in front of their young son. You see horses shot and blood splatters from humans and animals. There is also knife violence and legs are slit. Characters are shot and severely beaten. One man is beaten to death until his teeth fall out, and blood spurts out from his face. The body count is high in The Harder They Fall. 

There is some kissing, and two characters begin to take off their clothes to have sex, but are interrupted. One scene has a woman in a club dancing and is naked but covered with body paint,a and has jewels strategically placed to cover body parts. 

Is The Harder They Fall Appropriate for Teens? 

While there may be more violent films that teens have seen, I do not recommend The Harder They Fall for kids under 18. Many deaths are stylized, and some are comical, but the brutality and lack of remorse are what is hard to watch. This is a Tarantino-type film with some slow motion action sequences, and a lot of fake blood thrown around around. 

The Harder They Fall is beautifully shot and the cinematography makes it a pretty film. But it was a lot. Some of the characters were too much to handle, and at times, it felt repetitious. There could have been a lot edited down.

I’m all for a Black Western, and the cast was full of heavy hitters. Jonathan Majors was a standout, even making me like him more than Idris. Gasp.  Although some of the characters were over the top, they were still bad-A. I could have done with a little less motherf-ers and blood spurts, and more backstory of supporting characters. The Harder They Fall was a lot of fun if you like this genre of film. 

More Parent Reviews

Last Night in Soho Parents Guide

Maid Parents Guide

Eternals Parents Guide