Seven gunmen in the Old West gradually come together to help a poor village against savage thieves.
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke
Rated PG-13 for extended and intense sequences of Western violence and for historical smoking, some language and suggestive material
“The Magnificent Seven” is a remake of the 1960 classic directed by John Sturges. Both films tell the story of seven men who come together in order to help a village defend their homes from a group of thieves. Using Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” as their template, Sturges’ film took viewers on a much more personal outing, whereas the 2016 version is clearly intended for laughs and fun in general, with high-budget action sequences. While most of the film contains filler, “The Magnificent Seven” doesn’t fail to entertain. It all adds up to a final showdown, a grand finale of sorts. There’s a sense of intensity and urgency as bullets fly, characters run all over the place and shocking developments unfold. To be perfectly clear, “The Magnificent Seven” may be 133 minutes, but the film is worth watching for the final 30 minutes alone. However, given this is a Fuqua film, the final product is usually better than expected, and you will find much of the “filler” in the middle is enjoyable, perhaps not to a fault, but certainly to a satisfying extent.
Antoine Fuqua is an interesting filmmaker. His films are largely hit-or-miss. He directed the critically-acclaimed “Training Day,” which was nominated for two Oscars. Fuqua also directed “Shooter,” a reasonably entertaining, albeit credibly dubious, action movie. His other films, including “Tears of the Sun,” “King Arthur” and “Brooklyn’s Finest,” were not as well-received.
Going into a Fuqua film, things can be quite deceptive. For starters, his films are usually very conventional. His characters are stereotypes – in “The Magnificent Seven” you have the 10 out of 10 sharp-shooter who leads the group, the drunk who still has a respectful moral code, the legendary gunman who has devoted himself to a life of peace because he despises violence, the big guy with a slight speech impediment who makes jokes and comes off as lovable, the foreigner who just so happens to be an expert with knives, the outlaw-turned-hero, and the silent Indian who only communicates with war paint and battle skills. The stories are preposterous – heroes training an entire town to be battle-hardened warriors in a number of days to take on a band of evil men, with the good guys meeting up in the right place at the right time to become the titular group. Fuqua’s films are pretty average, but they’re not unbearable to watch from beginning to end.
Denzel Washington is perfect in the role of Chisholm. His calm facial expressions and authoritarian presence in the group are reminiscent of Washington’s performances in “The Book of Eli” and “The Equalizer.” Chris Pratt is Chris Pratt as usual. If you’ve seen “Guardians of the Galaxy” or even “Jurassic World,” then you know what you’re getting into with him. Ethan Hawke is surprisingly off here. He delivers some dialogue worthy of a few intentional laughs, and that’s about it. There is a scene in particular where Hawke becomes gun shy, but it comes off as a rather silly scene given the seriousness that’s implied, and, unfortunately, Hawke seems to be the main detractor. Peter Sarsgaard is quite exceptional as villain Bartholomew Bogue, and he is worthy of at least a Best Actor award in an action movie from the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards for this coming awards season.
If you’re looking for something deep and thought-provoking, steer clear from this film. However, if you’re looking for something you can watch while you stuff your mouth with popcorn or for something generally light-hearted, occasionally serious and even slightly over-the-top, then “The Magnificent Seven” is certainly for you.