British music producer Jeymes Samuel makes an impressive start to his (first major movie) filmmaking career with this western that has all the trademarks of Quentin Tarantino as his inspiration.
And that’s not hard to see why, with Tarantino’s pal Lawrence Bender (Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs) on production duties – giving it a The Hateful Eight-cum-Young Guns-cum-The Magnificent Seven-cum-Unforgiven feel – in this black-inspired wild west adventure.
When outlaw Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) discovers that his life-time enemy Rufus Buck (Idris Elba) – who murdered his parents when he was a young boy – is being released from prison early, he rounds up his gang – including quick-draw Jim Beckwourth (RJ Cyler), sharpshooter Bill Pickett (Edi Gathegi), Marshal Bass Reeves (Delroy Lindo) and Love’s old flame Stagecoach Mary (Zazie Beetz) – to track him down and seek revenge.
The problem is that Buck has an equally fearsome crew – Regina King’s ‘Treacherous’ Trudy Smith and Lakeith Stanfield’s Cherokee Bill to name but two – and this will ultimately lead to a showdown in Redwood City that’s not for the faint hearted.
Through some clever comedic interludes, over-the-top blood splattering violence and likeable characters (messrs Majors, Beetz, Cyler, Gathegi and Danielle Deadwyler as Cuffee, all impress) – all to the backdrop of an exceptional soundtrack and an engaging storyline – this really is a lot of fun, even if it’s a touch bloated and too self-aware at times.
But even if westerns aren’t your bag – it’s well worth falling for this super-cool sharpshooter.
ESP Rating: 4/5
Gavin Miller
Netflix Exclusive, Out Now
Cast: Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Lakeith Stanfield, Delroy Lindo, RJ Cyler, Edi Gathegi, Danielle Deadwyler, Damon Wayans Jr & Deon Cole
Running Time: 2 Hrs 19 Mins
Director: Jeymes Samuel
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