Wednesday 28 September 2016

The Magnificent Seven (Movie Review)



As a seasoned moviegoer, I am no stranger to Hollywood's much-reviled fixation with remakes. And the only thing worse than one of these remakes it seems is the remake of a remake. Thankfully, The Magnificent Seven manages to circumvent that black hole of dreariness by leaning heavily on the performances (not to mention overall appeal) of its star-studded cast.

The ensemble is led by Denzel Washington, who plays Sam Chisolm, a bounty hunter sought out to protect a small town that has been recently overrun by a group of outlaws. To do so, he must first enlist the help of fellow gunslingers Josh Faraday (Chris Pratt), Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee), Jack Horne (Vincent D'Onofrio), Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). Thus, the titular seven is born, and in their wake they leave behind the kind of body count you’d expect from an action film directed by Antoine Fuqua (King Arthur, Olympus Has Fallen).

The Magnificent Seven is a by-the-numbers western that felt closer to the video game, Red Dead Redemption, than any one of Quentin Tarantino’s modern classics (Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight). But what it lacks in detail and well-written dialogues, it makes up for with fun and spectacle. The result is a movie that plays like a summer blockbuster. Just don’t expect to be blown away.

9 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed it. It hit every note a Western should and the cast was great.

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    1. Yeah, I suppose so as well. Hopefully this might help spark a revival of the genre.

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  2. Yeah, there are definitely more and more remakes these days. It's bound to polarise an audience, as some people won't want to watch it for fear it will ruin the original. Sounds like this one would be good if you don't expect too much!

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    1. I never saw the original, funny enough, but I fully understand those who might be skeptical of this new one.

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  3. That sounds about right. Hollywood has been trying desperately to make Westerns popular again. Denzel Washington teaming with Chris Pratt (and five others) seem about right, and your reaction seems about the same.

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