The Harder They Come
Syndctd Entertainment | Release Date: February 8, 1973 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
14
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Entertainment WeeklySteve SimelsOct 3, 2019
For those who saw it back in 1972, The Harder They Come was a revelation, evocative of a poor but vibrant Jamaican culture few Americans knew about, with a bombshell reggae soundtrack that for all intents introduced the musical genre here. Read full review
100
Slant MagazineKeith WatsonOct 3, 2019
The Harder They Come’s greatest asset may still be its soundtrack, which makes such a stirring impact because it provides a cathartic release from the grim realities depicted on screen. Read full review
100
The GuardianPeter Bradshaw
The reggae soundtrack throbs and crunches and shudders in concert with the raw energy of Henzell’s storytelling and Cliff’s performance, but this doesn’t preclude a shrewdly self-aware debate about representation. Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubScott TobiasOct 3, 2019
While it was ultimately the songs—You Can Get It If You Really Want, Many Rivers To Cross, Pressure Drop, and the title track, among other classics—that carried the day, The Harder They Come remains a powerful testament to their meaning. Read full review
80
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)Oct 3, 2019
Perry Henzell emerges a director with a solid visual flair who can mix action and inchoate rage sans excess to give the film a taut pacing and use the local color and a basically predictable tale with a few new twists. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderDon DrukerOct 3, 2019
A proud, forthright indictment of national and personal corruption, as evoked through a young reggae singer's odyssey from country to city, from innocent to outlaw. Read full review
80
TimeJay CocksOct 3, 2019
The Harder They Come is always exuberant, and sometimes strong, as casually surprising and effortlessly sinister as the blade sliding out of a gravity knife. Read full review
80
CineVueChristopher Machell
The Harder They Come‘s two defining traits – violence and style – inform almost all of Ivan’s behaviour as he adopts the fashions and nihilism of the heroes of American and European cinema. Yet the world around him remains dully ambivalent and cruel in ways more complex and unpredictable than the characters he replicates. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleStaff (Not Credited)Oct 3, 2019
The movie's critiques of the music industry, the ganja trade, and organized religion still ring true. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)Oct 3, 2019
The filmmaking is a bit crude at times but it packs an emotional wallop. Read full review
70
The New YorkerPauline KaelOct 3, 2019
The film, directed by Perry Henzell, is feverish and haphazard, but the music redeems much of it, and the rhythmic swing of the Jamaican speech is hypnotic.
70
The New York TimesA. H. WeilerOct 3, 2019
The largely amateur cast of black performers and their producer-director may be involved in basically simple action fare in The Harder They Come, but they also leave a slightly disturbing, documentary impression of the darker side of the sunny Jamaica. Read full review
70
Village VoiceMelissa AndersonJun 5, 2012
The definitive postcolonial cult-movie musical. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertOct 3, 2019
The characters aren’t consistent, and Cliff eventually becomes so unbelievable that we just stop caring. The movie’s ending is an exercise in plot; its beginning and its music deserve better than that. Read full review
60
EmpireWilliam ThomasOct 3, 2019
A Jamaican classic with an awesome OST. Read full review
40
Time OutStephen GarrettJun 5, 2012
But make no mistake: As a movie, it's Mystery Science Theater 3000 bad: atrocious acting, amateurish camerawork and a hackneyed story line all make for one painful slog. Read full review
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