Review: ‘Magnificent Seven’ (2016)

Written by,
Sean Wall

In 1954, the legendary Akira Kurosawa‘s classic ‘Seven Samurai‘ was created, followed by the 1960 film “Magnificent Seven” which served as a remake of Kurosawa‘s film and now; in 2016, “Magnificent Seven” gets another remake showing that classics truly never die. 2016’s ‘Magnificent Seven‘ is directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer, Shooter, and Olympus Has Fallen) and stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Haley Bennett, Vincent D’onofrio, Peter Sarsgaard, Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and Martin Sensmeier. There are some similarities to the original but some may consider it not enough to be called a remake. However, many remakes don’t contain too much of the original as a remake is only serving the original plot having the build-up produced differently.

Synopsis:

Set in the late 19th century, the town of Rose Creek is terrorised by a ruthless businessman Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard). Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett), the widow of a man Bogue killed, hires a bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) to take Bogue down. He in turn hires six other men – a charismatic gambler Faraday (Chris Pratt), a PTSD suffering sharpshooter Goodnight (Ethan Hawke), his assassin friend Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee), a bear-sized tracker Jack Horne (Vincent D’onofrio), a ‘Texican’ outlaw Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and a Comanche warrior Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). Once assembled, The Magnificent Seven ride off to Rose Creek to save the town from evil guys.

The seven individuals that band together have various reasons to join the fight. Some feel its destiny, to avoid jail, to have some fun, and others are seeking revenge. One catalyst to the group making it feel unrealistic is that they all get along well. When you several different personalities be willing to risk their life, in reality, it would be hard to get along especially given the multitude of reasons for them being together. Being at odds all the time isn’t what I’m saying but everyone having a positive energy towards one another is strange.

With that being said, there’s plenty of action. It keeps the flow of the film at an easy going fast pace. The action sequences are choreographed with finesse, especially the long climax that had a surprising casualty I didn’t see coming. Technically, the frames created by Mauro Fiore is gorgeous to look at, while the BG score, partly composed by late Academy award winner James Horner, is apt.

There were many points in the movie you felt the cast was overshadowed by Denzel. We all know the partnership Denzel and Antione have with many films but it shouldn’t be publicly displayed like it was in this one. The film didn’t feel quite like an ensemble film. Don’t get it twisted Pratt‘s delivering his one-liners was done with charisma, Denzel does what he does best, and each character was developed centering the actors portraying them.

2016’s “Magnificent Seven” isn’t what your parents grew up on. The original was a full of drama, action, and suspense but this remake is simply different. The action sequences have been doubled as many action films seem to be like nowadays. It’s not a bad film actually the modern approach settles in nicely for what they wanted but don’t go into this with high expectations of it being like the original. Sit back and enjoy.

Rating: ⋆⋆⋆ ½

“Magnificent Seven” is out in theaters now!