Directed by:
Antoine FuquaCinematography:
Mauro FioreCast:
Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Byeong-heon Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett, Peter Sarsgaard (more)VOD (4)
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In director Antoine Fuqua’s modern vision to a classic story, the desperate townspeople of Rose Creek employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns after the town falls under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue. As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money. (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (11)
The Equalizer times seven. Fuqua doesn't show off that much, and so he only pulls a truly sovereign treat out of his sleeve once. The rest of it is standard action routine that's hidden far below his directorial standards, making the central seven whine even more in their uninterestingness, where about 1.5 charisma works in the flatness of the coffin planks. I've managed to miss out on the original for years, so I was expecting more of a B-action orgy in a Wild West setting than a major creative comparison, but the rescue of the White House chief worked more sovereignly.
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Condemning it because of nostalgia or resistance to correctness is, of course, stupid. The film has problems elsewhere. The cast is strong, but Fuqua doesn't get much out of it, especially in the first half, just a demonstration of photogenic faces and poses. Things come to light in the final battle, and until then, sometimes a one-liner here and there sparkles, which Nic Pizzolatto knows how to write. The last third is a pleasant old-school battle with a good pace and quite pleasantly chosen deaths in the group. The problem of The Magnificent Seven is precisely that they are somehow indecisively straddled between a classic western and a buddy action film with a more modern style. When in the end there is a "Technicolor" palette with tombs and the notorious melody of Elmer Bernstein, it feels completely false. The golden age of the western is gone and this group rather swiftly passed it by. Which, given its composition, is actually too little. Sympathetic ***
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The Magnificent Seven, a deep-rooted concept in the world of cinema, an immortal opus that became a benchmark of the genre. Remaking this legend automatically confronted the filmmakers with a problem, the failure of which I felt almost constantly throughout the film. The problem was to make it a dynamic western, complex enough to satisfy contemporary audiences spoiled by the golden age of film technology, that at the same time would be a little old-fashioned and not too auteur-driven to satisfy die-hard fans of the original and classic western as such. Its failure could be tolerated just fine under the right circumstances, especially considering my personal sympathies for the cast and crew, some of director Fuqua's earlier work, and the tragically deceased composer Horner, who managed to flesh out the original legendary melody into a rather impressive atmospheric medley of his tried-and-true themes from Enemy at the Gates and Avatar. What bothered me a lot, though, was the terribly predictable layout of the script, which, while trying to dress up the original story in an unadorned modern garb and give the characters different motivations for their impossible heroic act, repeatedly applies the cheapest adventure movie clichés and uses an utterly primitive development formula that could have gone something like this: A) sparking the conflict and motivating the handsome heroine to seek revenge; B) persuasion: first the heroine persuades the protagonist to protect the locals, and then travels the country looking for help; C) finding and training the villagers; d) the final battle. Four stages of the story and, unfortunately, nothing in between to highlight them in any way on an emotional, psychological or narrative level. The main villain just acts expediently to give the "good guys" as much motivation as possible, and the group of intrepid gunslingers agree without any hesitation to take part in a mission that means almost certain death. On top of that, the titular seven, who in the original film where made up of distinct and complementary characters, now suspiciously merge into one characteristically unidirectional, but ethnically well-mixed cultural stew, from which we remember in hindsight perhaps only the carefree grin of Chris Pratt or the nervous grimaces of the only potentially contradictory figure, Ethan Hawk. As expected, the only thing that really makes the film worth watching is the fantastic audiovisual aspect, which means the two central shootouts are a truly intoxicating western experience, while the trivial riding scenes across the typical Wild West landscape are also a feast for the eyes thanks to the beautiful photography, or, specifically, Denzel Washington's final mid-shot as he emerges from the house to meet his arch rival, shot from a majestic overhead and with dust swirling against a sunlit backdrop – certainly one of the freshest shots of the year.
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I have to admit, the 2016 remake of The Magnificent Seven worked for me. I ended up giving it four stars, and honestly, I’m going to skip over the usual gripes I have with modern Hollywood and just say this was a solid blockbuster. Sure, the lineup of the seven is a pretty on-the-nose mix of white, Black, Asian, and everything in between, and yes, the political correctness is off the charts—but let’s not dwell on that. What the director nailed was the action and the atmosphere. It’s a simple, no-fuss, entertaining ride, and I had a lot of fun with it. It doesn’t feel like a lazy cash-grab remake, but more like a tribute to the original legends, and the cast definitely delivered. They worked so well together, making it a joy to watch—except for the villain, who felt like a bit of a one-dimensional idiot. But if you know the original, you’ll know he gets his just desserts in the end, and trust me, it’s worth sticking around for. All in all, a fun buddy-action flick, which Hollywood doesn’t churn out like it used to. Definitely a nice surprise.
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The title makes the film a disservice than anything else. For example, many viewers would have taken it better to call it "Fast and Brisk", and without the inevitable (whether greater or lesser) disappointment that the duo of absolute classic movies of the silver screen, which have survived and will survive for decades, is remade in the form of an disposal relaxing movie that will soon be forgotten. On the other hand, there is the not inconsiderable fact that although it is a western second-rate one-time watch, it is a surprisingly fun and properly driven Western second-rate one-time watch, which is not afraid to use the screen to the fullest. In other words, it is consumable and unnecessary, but not bad. And in purely genre moments (graded tension before the first big shootout, etc.) it will keep you entertained. That´s for sure.
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