A big screen remake of John Sturges' classic western The Magnificent Seven, itself a remake of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Seven gun men in the old west gradually come together to help a poor v...
2016's "The Magnificent Seven" is the second remake to Akira Kurosawa's 1956 Western "The Seven Samurai." And after so many films like this, it's perhaps unavoidable that The Magnificent Seven has shadows of some films that has come before - some will see echoes of films like "A Fistful of Dollars," "Django Unchained" and the mentioned 1956 classic.
Like "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," diversity is a selling point for this film - it puts an African-American (Washington) in front of the action, with 3 white Americans (Pratt, Hawke & D'nofrio), and includes Mexican (Garcia-Rulfo), Native (Sensmeir), and Asian (Byung-hun) actors as well. These seven are recruited by Emma Cullen (Bennett), to help a poor village against savage oppressors led by Bart Bogue (Sarsgaard).
It's an entertaining yet familiar ride from start to finish, that features a wide range of charismatic actors, which are, unfortunately, coated by hollow characters. Some characters and/or actors are more glossed over than others. Pratt continues to be typecasted on what he's good at. Even so, it really is, Hawke who's the standout. While Sarsgaard is menacingly weak as the main antagonist.
The Magnificent Seven takes the formula of similar films - recruitment, then a risky mission, and finally - an action-heavy third act - which in my opinion, is the best part of the movie. It's overlong, and sometime slow, but despite that, decent entertainment could be found.
VERDICT: Another masculine-driven Western film heavy on strike-a-pose moments, gunfire and explosions, stylish setting and seven talented actors in center of the action portion.
