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The Magnificent Seven - Review: Well.... They're Alright


The Magnificent Seven - Review: Well...
7 out of 10

In a remake of the 1960 classic, the town of Rose Creek is overrun by a villainous land grabber, Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard – Jarhead, Black Mass) and his army of hired guns. It’s residents turn to the bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington – Training Day, The Equalizer) and his six companions to take back their town.

The first many will notice here is the rather peculiar tone the film takes. Particularly through, the early stages it takes itself very seriously as it instils Rose Creek as a less desirable tourist destination. It’s gritty and grim which is all well and good, but then against that you have someone like Chris Pratt cracking jokes like his every other film role since 2013, and it expects us to laugh at them all the same. Then there’s its approach to death, which seems to switch from being hard hitting and meaningful (like Emma witnessing her husband’s murder in the opening scenes) to casual as most of protagonists start killing on a whim without thought or hesitation. While it’s of course intended as a reflection of more savage times, it’s an inconsistent feel that, while isn’t necessarily bad, it does take about half the film to warm into. The story similarly makes tricky going of it through the first half. Once the avenging septet is assembled, pretty much everything just builds towards that all important final showdown. Now, this would be fine if the time was used to drill down more on the characters, build interactions with each other and flesh out back stories. We get some of that but not enough. A few faces get plenty of added depth: most notably Ethan Hawke’s (Boyhood, Good Kill) sharpshooter with a troubled past who surprisingly becomes the most interesting character onscreen. Similarly we connect well with Harley Bennett’s (Hardcore Henry) Emma having seen her story from the begging as she fights to save her friends and family of the town. Then by contrast, the entire character of Manuel Garcia Ruflo’s Vasquez is... he’s the Mexican guy. With Pratt involved, the obvious negative comparison is to the Guardians of the Galaxy. Unlike that case of all characters being defined and interesting for kinetic ensemble, this Seven just doesn’t come together in the same way.

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Although this film is primarily building towards its final battle set piece, we must give credit where it’s due; it’s worth the wait. Imagine the final town battle of Saving Private Ryan as a Western, and that is what we have here. The principle gang members are dotted about amongst the conscripted towns fold ranks as the overwhelming opposition swarms in on them. The action is outstanding as guns, rifles and explosives blast all over the place while Mauro Fiore’s (Training Day, Avatar) camerawork keeps us in the saddle riding alongside them. There’s good use of peril and overcoming adversity while all the principle characters get several shining moments. Though Denzel kinda steals the show with a badass shooting out of the saddle sequence as he gallops down the street. Throughout the film, the building bursts of action deliver, favouring the style of a good old Western quick draw with extensive tension and apprehension before a moment of release. Some of it could still be improved. The ultimate face-off between’s the Seven’s Red Harvest and bad guy’s more generic Indian lieutenant is a real let down for being completely one-sided and so short you could your breath through it. Also, the initial town showdown in the down struggles with its pacing but still does its job of showcasing all of ye olde Justice League doing their thing. The token knife man Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee – GI Joe’s Storm Shadow) is a notable highlight. Another big positive here is the music. The classic theme is, of course, featured but around that we have plenty of yee-hah worthy scoring featuring the final works of the late James Horner (RIP) completed by his good friend Simon Fraglen.

So despite some good features, there is one point above all else that keeps this being a more disposable, causal entertainment blockbuster than a reborn classic. The problem is not the Seven, it is the one. Peter Sarsgaard has been atrociously miss-cast here as the principle villain. They try to make him into a sleazy but ruthless schemer yet instead he comes across as unconvincing and annoying. A lot of the story hinges on loathing and despising his character. Ethan Hawke even belts the message to his trainees, “You have to hate what you shoot!”…. but we don’t hate him. We just feel disappointed in him as a poor villain showing becomes the film’s Achilles heel (no, this isn’t a Marvel movie).

The Magnificent Seven is not perfect and certainly not the fun ride its trailers implied but many may still find enjoyment in checking it out (preferably with six other friends of varying race). The influence of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (the inspiration for the 1960 film and plenty more besides) feels like it’s been lost in translation this time around and certainly not director Antoine Fuqua’s (Training Day, Southpaw) best film as Leo will tell you at the Oscar’s; you can’t win them all. Plus, if this isn’t a smash success, at least they won’t try to remake Bad Girls.

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