The Magnificent Seven has little in common with the 1960 version but isn’t a terrible movie
I am not usually a fan of westerns. The only films in this genre I have seen are Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Blazing Saddles, Back to the Future Part 3, Wild Wild West and Cowboys and Aliens. These films fall into different areas of the genre but I enjoyed watching all of them. There is a new film that is out now that is a remake called The Magnificent Seven. I was able to see it this week and here is my thoughts on it.
You can read the plot for The Magnificent Seven here:
Looking to mine for gold, greedy industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) seizes control of the Old West town of Rose Creek. With their lives in jeopardy, Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) and other desperate residents turn to bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) for help. Chisolm recruits an eclectic group of gunslingers to take on Bogue and his ruthless henchmen. With a deadly showdown on the horizon, the seven mercenaries soon find themselves fighting for more than just money once the bullets start to fly.
I wasn’t sure what to think of The Magnificent Seven after I saw it. There is a lot of blood, a ton of death and some characters die who I wish had lived. Sadly most of the characters in this movie are expendable, besides a small circle around the heroes and even they are not safe from harm. At first I wanted to be harsh on this remake because it was not as good as I had hoped it would be.
Yet the more I thought about it I couldn’t hate The Magnificent Seven. It has a really good cast, they help make this a film worth watching. The stand out role for me is Peter Sargaard as the villain. He is a modern day devil and it is impossible to feel any kind of sympathy for him. Just when you think he can’t do anything worse he surprises you. His greed seems to know no bounds and more modern films need a bad guy like this.
Chris Pratt is good although sadly he is not much more comic relief which is a shame. He does good in this remake but I wish he had been given more to do. There are plenty of moments in the final scenes where things go haywire and it is difficult to tell what will happen next. Overall a pretty good western that fans of this genre will want to check out this weekend. If you want to learn more about The Magnificent Seven head over to this website.
I give The Magnificent Seven 7/10. What helps this movie the most is the stellar cast. No matter how peculiar or odd the characters they are all there for a good reason. They are all willing to do everything they can to try to stop this wicked man. It is a film that will definitely not be for everyone but many western fans will enjoy it.
The Magnificent Seven is out now. You can follow The Magnificent Seven on Facebook and Twitter.
Check out the action packed trailer below: