Idris Elba is superb!

I liked it a lot and the cinematography was super well done. The only thing is that the ending could have been more sentimental by prolonging it. But I bet people would probably disagree with me on that. This is just my opinion.

Elba never disappoints of course. The pacing of the movie isn't the best but a very touching movie!

'Concrete Cowboy' dropped onto Netflix in 2020 and is actually a decent Netflix movie based around great character acting rather than fancy CGI. SYNOPSIS: 'Sent to live with his estranged father for the summer, a rebellious teen finds kinship in a tight-knit Philadelphia community of Black cowboys.' Although this film is predictable at times with it's storyline, it looks incredible with some amazing photography. Director, Ricky Straub (making his debut here) clearly has an expert eye in capturing some incredibly lit scenes. The film also features standout performances from Caleb McLaughlin, in a breakout performance, and Idris Elba who quietly does his thing becoming the back bone to the film. A gorgeous coming of age movie. 7/10

I really enjoyed it especially after learning that it centers on real life "concrete cowboys" Who are still currently riding in North Philly. Apparently there have been urban based male & female riders there for over a century. The interview at the end with some of the real life riders, that are also in the movie was an added bonus.

amazing scenes with artistic eye

That stable life. So this is about a teenager named Cole (Caleb McLaughlin). His mother in Detroit won't stand for him getting into trouble anymore, so she throws his clothes into some garbage bags and drives him to Philadelphia to live with his father (Idris Elba). He's a cowboy who lives in the city, so this is sure to be a drastic change for Cole. Now this one was on my radar, but it got pushed onto my backburner in a big way. While it looked intriguing, the fact of the matter is that nobody was talking about it, so it just sat on my watchlist. Now that I'm prepping for my 2021 wrap-up, I'm prioritizing catching up on films I missed, and Concrete Cowboy is pretty decent. Now going off the posters, you may be under the impression that this is Idris Elba's movie. While he gets to showcase his range once again, this isn't the case. It's much more Caleb McLaughlin's story. He's grown up considerably since Stranger Things, almost overnight, so much so that I don't know how they're going to make season 4 without making it take place in college. He turns in some quality work here. It's just such a bizarre situation to get thrown into the deep end, and he serves as the audience's avatar. I like the relationship he forms with the notorious horse that nobody can break, and I enjoyed watching him learn the ropes as the story advances. Expectedly, he is resistant at first, but he eventually comes around. That's the thing with this movie: it's formulaic and plays out almost exactly as you would imagine, but it's the variables that are mostly quality and elevate it. I use the modifier mostly because there is also an additional plot thread of Cole getting involved in very generic street crime. They don't even spell out what exactly is getting pushed, and it makes up such a large part of this story that I have to knock a few points off. Concrete Cowboy is a film that never rises above being satisfactory. I think it works from an educational standpoint more than anything. It may not directly be based on a true story, but there are people like this out there, and it lets you know how much whitewashing Hollywood did to the perception of cowboys. They use real, non-actor riders who do this on the daily, and that does give this story an authentic feel to it. It's not bad, so watch it at your own discretion if it sounds interesting.

Idris Elba is fantastic as always. The story touches upon some interesting thematic qualities. But it also lags towards the end.

Interesting. The story was a bit predictable. Reasonably well done. Idris Elba always does a good job.

It's strange to me there are not more people talking about this movie. It was so powerful. I had no idea what it was about and was surprised at how taken in I was right away. Wonderfully written and superb acting performances. I keep suggesting it to friends and no one seems to have heard of it that mention it to. Which is a shame because the history alone is worth learning.

I loved it. This touches base on the shattering realities of the street life versus the perception of it from a suburban life. A coming of age story that shows a boy get humbled

Good movie. Highly recommend this based on a true story movie.

Great movie hard, to picture that this really happened/exists. Really got us thinking.

Concrete Cowboy is a fascinating film about a subculture I knew little about. This very interesting film weaves a story around the real life African-American horse riding culture in the streets of Philadelphia. Cole is fifteen and lives with his mother in Detroit. After numerous incidents at school she loses patience and dumps him with his estranged father Harp in Philadelphia. Harp is part of the horse riders in the city and whilst he is reluctant at first to care for him he slowly shows him the ropes and Cole soon enough immerses himself in this vibrant culture. This is a coming of age story with a difference. We see the world through Cole's eyes and also see a world that few of us have seen. It also ably shows how some cultures are eroded through gentrification and 'progress'. It's a warm, embracing film that has tragedy and humour in equal amounts. Acting is honest and mostly excellent with great turns from Idris Elba and Caleb McLaughlin. A film of substance and generosity.

The premise: a community of black cowboys taking in a troubled teen. The problem: to be such a unique (and well shot) setting, you couldn't feel the boys pain in the beginning or feel anything deeply rewarding at the end. Idris is great - but this was a little snoozy.

Alright. Not as special as it might have been with characters of any depth. As it is, I didn't care about any of them, nor about their story… Disappointing

Fascinating film. Really captures the reality of hard work and getting by. A sweet story line between estranged father and son is the main theme and makes for captivating viewing

Excellent performance by the leads, seemed a little choppy, like there were scenes missing or cut out. This easily could have been a three hour movie had the cuts not been made though. I would have enjoyed more backstory and more filling in of information in between, no spoilers, but more detail could be needed for anyone who can't read between the lines.

Outstanding! Will watch again...

While it has some pretty great acting from the entire cast, Concrete Cowboy focuses on so many surface level ideas that not only is it boring, but it also makes one wonder whether it would've been better if it was just a documentary.