The Magnificent Seven (2016)

Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensemeier, Haley Bennett, Peter Sarsgaard, Luke Grimes, Matt Bomer, Jonathan Joss, Cam Gigandet, Vinnie Jones (uncredited)
Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Western
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Seven gunmen come together to help protect a village.

Review:

Tim: I really didn't feel like we needed a remake of The Magnificent Seven. That's a great Western film. I love Denzel Washington and love that he finally did a Western, but it was hard to get excited about this one. Still, I went into it with an open mind, ready to like the film. Unfortunately, I just couldn't do it. This movie isn't nearly as good as the original (which, as we all know, was a Western remake of Seven Samurai). This film is decent, it's totally fine, but there's just not enough here to justify its existence. Ultimately, this movie is too forgettable.

The story is one that's fairly familiar, whether you've seen the original or not. A small band of gunmen fight against overwhelming odds to protect a small village. We've seen this before and this movie has nothing new or original to offer. It's just retreading ground we've already covered. The movie is decent- it has decent action sequences, a few surprises, a strong cast. But it never takes anything to the next level, it never emerges as anything special. It mostly plays out exactly as we expect. There's a big cast, so we don't get to spend nearly enough time with any of the characters, so there's not much of an emotional connection to any of them.

The movie has quite a few flaws. It certainly felt like it overly relied on star power- let's put a bunch of big names together and no one will stop and examine the script or the dialogue too deeply. The script was weak- for example, it's laughable why these seven would come together to risk their lives. They often have tenuous or no connections with each other, so it appears absurd that so many people just decide, "Sure, why not?" The movie gives us no compelling reason why any of them showed up, outside of Denzel Washington and one or two others. It just felt like they came together because they needed seven people. That's a big issue that bothered me throughout the film. It's lazy writing and there are other examples throughout the film. Antoine Fuqua is usually a solid director, but he treats this too much like a modern day film. It never feels authentic or believable for the time period in which it's supposedly set.

The cast is good, but they are better on paper. Denzel Washington is a great actor, so you know he's going to do solid work. It felt like he wasn't given quite enough screen time because of the size of the cast. His performance was good, but this isn't one of his better outings. I loved the idea of pairing him with Chris Pratt, but they didn't work nearly as well together as I'd expect. Pratt was fine, but I didn't love his performance. I really wanted to see more between Washington and Pratt and it just didn't deliver. That was disappointing. Ethan Hawke gives a solid supporting performance. I like Vincent D'Onofrio and he had some nice moments of levity, but I didn't quite believe much of his performance. Peter Sarsgaard made an effective antagonist and was one of the better members of the cast. Haley Bennett was completely overshadowed. Byung-hun Lee was decent. Really, there's very few standouts in a cast that is supposed to be very much about star power.

Now, while there's much to grumble about here, The Magnificent Seven is still a decent Western. The climactic battle is extensive and fairly fun. There's a few unexpected surprises thrown in. Fuqua knows action, so it was fun seeing him apply that to a Western. I certainly didn't hate this movie, but if you're going to remake a classic, you need to deliver more than just a decent film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Seven Samurai, The Magnificent Seven, Return of the Magnificent Seven, Guns of the Magnificent Seven