The Magnificent Seven Review
PG13: Extended and Intense Sequences of Western Violence, and For Historical Smoking, Some Language and Suggestive Material
(really Historical Smoking? That’s a rating reason? you’re really stretching it MPAA)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Columbia Pictures, LStar Capital, Village Roadshow Pictures
2 Hrs and 14 Minutes
Cast: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett, with Matt Bomer, and Peter Sarsgaard
REVIEW: Antoine Fuqua, one of this generations coolest directors with range in genre has bought us classic films such as Training Day. That’s all I got just Training Day. He has dabbled with medieval remakes, generic boxing flicks, TV action adaptations, and mindless action sequences and now he has his first remake western with the Magnificent Seven one of the greatest westerns ever made. It is one of those films just like Ben-Hur that you shouldn’t touch to remake. Could’ve done the wild bunch which relates to his bloody violence, but no Magnificent Seven is good. But hey if you have Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, and Vincent D’Onofrio, you’re bound to be entertained.
Set in the 1870s shortly after the Civil War, as the town of Rose Creek is put under the siege of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue, the residents enlist the help of seven outlaws, a bounty hunter Sam Chisolm, a gambler Josh Faraday, a sharpshooter Goodnight Robicheaux, a tracker Jack Horne, an assassin Billy Rocks, a Mexican outlaw Vasquez, and a Comanche warrior Red Harvest, to protect them while they prepare for the anticipated violent confrontation. However, upon meeting the town's residents, the Seven find themselves fighting for much more than money.
THE GOOD: What I can say about every Fuqua film, is that they all manage to be entertaining and Magnificent Seven is another piece of proof of that. There is never a true dull moment in the film. For its long length, it isn’t boring for one second. It isn’t enticing with its story, but it manages to keep you awake. As much Fuqua praises his love for western you see him whole heartily takes his love and integrates it into the production and cinematography that takes you back to the westerns of the 70s but with Fuqua’s gritty look where the contrast filter is on 100%. There is an aesthetic atmosphere of classic Western cinema that you have to to appreciate.
The cast really makes up the whole film. There isn’t really much character to a whole lot of them with the exception of Hawke and Lee who you see their historical connection and their bond. You really have Chris Pratt being Chris Pratt (with a bit of a racist side to him this time around), and Denzel being badass Denzel. They both have he same amount of charisma that you see in most of their films in their filmography. Even Vincent D’Onofrio who went from Kingpin in Daredevil to a money hungry baddie in Jurassic World to now a crazy biblical bounty hunter whose a complete badass. Some of the best characters are not even really part of the seven main one being Haley Bennett who seeks revenge and trains herself to get it. So when it is time for her to be the badass, she delivers it exceptionally.
THE BAD: With a large cast like this anda director like Antoine Fuqua who gives R rating a cool name you would expect the gun violence to be fun right. For some parts here and there it is, but the film suffers from its PG13 rating. I’m not saying it should've been rated R by having Quentin Tarantino blood spurts but if there were more blood that looked realistic it would’ve been more enjoyable. You don’t really know its target audience because it has an excessive amounts of violence thats clean and barely any cursing or sexual innuendos. Its more more family friendly than Rango. There’s blood spurts here and there but it doesn’t take much of a risk with its story or its action. The film is so bloodless that guys drop all the time due to a bullet in the shoulder and pronounced dead. The only time the film has any sense of blood is when major characters are killed so it can manipulate your emotions.
As good as the cast is the film plays like a near Western version of The Avengers which each of the seven members have a different specific skill. So with badasses like these their villain has to be a major threat to them right? No. He’s a little bitch. Peter Sarsgaard is a damn near cartoon character over acting and sweating in every scene. Only thing he has for him is a huge ass weapon and an army. That’s it, without those he’s nothing there’s little to nothing threatening about him that even the final sequence is a definite attest to that. He's just one mustache twirl away to torturing people by tying em up to a railroad track.
The opening scene has a very dark tone, but then for the next thirty minutes or so its nearly a comedy thats mediocre at best. It isn’t until you see the entire Seven joined together and have a decently choreographed action sequence. But [back again with the PG13 complaint] by the last act the gun violence is just mindless and lack any sense of fun. The movie is just straightforward generic action just to entertain people who haven’t seen a Western in a long time or ever in their life. But for fans of the original and any fans of westerns in general, there is little to nothing for you here.
LAST STATEMENT: It may have some inspiration behind the production and cinematography and a well talented cast with another stellar performance from Washington. But the blandness ofstory and lack of intensity with action makes Fuqua’s Magnificent Seven anything but magnificent.
Rating: 2/5 | 44%
Super Scene: The Seven Saves the Town first time around.
