'The Magnificent Seven (2016)' Review

It seems as if we can barely go a couple of weeks without their being a remake nowadays. 2016 has been full of them with 'Ghostbusters', 'Ben-Hur' and 'The BFG' being released so far. None of these films however have fully delivered making you ponder why they were even remade. Then films like 'The Magnificent Seven' come along and show us how remakes can work.

Looking to mine for gold, greedy Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) takes the small town of Rose Creek through force. With innocent lives at risk, Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) turn to bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) for help. Chisolm recruits a team of  seven deadly gunslingers to come together to face off against Bogue and his men.

Technically a remake of a remake, the new creation of 'The Magnificent Seven' is most definitely a fun theatre experience. Something that seems to have been lacking in remakes seems to be a fun and enjoyable experience. This film has life in it and that can mainly come down to the characters within the film. The remake actually builds upon these characters bringing some diversity to the roles, with Denzel Washington leading the group featuring Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Martin Sensmeier- actors who all come from or descent from where their characters were from. This is great as we still see bizarre castings that should never happen and 'The Magnificent Seven' fully delivered on this aspect. 

Adding to this, the roles were all well cast talent wise as well. The actors fit the roles perfectly with the likes of Lee and Sensmeier coming across as cool action heroes with silent demeanour's. The film also features Chris Pratt and Vincent D'Onofrio who provide some comedy to the film adding another fun aspect to the movie. Denzel Washington brings leadership and a calm head providing a good contrast to the other characters as well. For me, Ethan Hawke was the stand out in this film as his character had the most interesting back story and overall had the most depth behind him. Hawke also delivers incredibly well showing good range throughout the film leading to a great performance. 

A problem that this movie does have like other remakes is that it seems to be dumbed down. The relationships between the members of the group seem to be brushed over fairly quickly and isn't used nearly as well as it could've been. Same with the motivations of the characters, it all seems to happen really quickly with no bickering which you'd expect at least from a group of completely different people. This could've added more to the relationships and also adding more comedy, making the film much better along the way. The film doesn't capitalise on moments like these with the effort seeming half hearted at times.

'The Magnificent Seven' really succeeds in feeling like a true western with the sets and locations fitting the story perfectly and looking beautiful at the same time. The soundtrack only adds to this with seemingly cliche music accompanying the western but that's not a problem if they are done well. Combined with the action throughout the film with some good old fashioned standoffs. These create a great Western feeling that fans of the genre will surely enjoy. 

Overall, 'The Magnificent Seven' is good, entertaining remake that is worth seeing. A fun and diverse cast really brings it with some great action especially the finale that is pure entertainment. One of the better remakes, however it isn't entirely clear to why we need so many right now.

Final Verdict = 

So have you seen 'The Magnificent Seven'? If so, what did you think of the movie? I hope that this review was useful for if you were planning on seeing the film. Once again, thank you for taking time to read my review, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor