To get it all out of the way to begin with, The Magnificent Seven is the Akira Kurosawa classic from 1960 that inspired several Bollywood films such as Sholay, Feroz Khan- starrer Khote Sikkay and even Sridevi's Army.
So, it only stands to reason that someone go ahead and remake the film. And this remake stars not just the who’s who of Hollywood but some of Hollywood’s finest acting talents. We have Denzel Washington, Vincent D’Onofrio, Peter Sarsgaard and others donning those gallon caps, clicking heels and planning to ride into the sunset, but not before doing away with evil.
The story’s simple. A young couple is separated when Bartholomew Brogue (Peter Sarsgaard), a particularly nasty businessman kills the husband, Matt Bomer (a haunting cameo by Matthew Cullen). The widow, Emma Cullen (stoically played by Haley Bennet) because he gave him lip about his idea of taking over a village that stands in his way of prosperity - something to do with gold, we aren’t exactly told what.
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But you know how it was in the Wild, Wild West. Once the guns start blazing they don’t stop until there’s just one man, or one team standing. So, Emma convinces Sam Chilsom (Denzel Washington), a Bounty Hunter to redeem the world of the evil that Brogue is. He in turn gets the help of 6 other people itching for adventure and we have a movie on our hands.
The Magnificent Seven is a difficult film to dislike. Like all Wild West stories, the cinematography of this film exploits the stark beauty of the outlands. Direction by Antoine Fuqua brings out the danger and death that lurked out there. Those scenes where the warriors ride on in the background of the sky and the land that seem like lovers trying to have that one last kiss are too good to miss. That’s us trying our hand at poetry.
The action scenes are fantastic and are an uptick to the screenplay that gallops from one intense moment to another. In fact, as soon as the audience begins to get restless at every sequence that seems to have overstayed its invitation, the guys on screen go all guns blazing - literally.
But what remains with you long after the credits roll are the performances. This film is filled with talent - so much so that we thought we saw Rosemary Harris, the woman who played Aunt May in the original Spider-Man in one of most inconsequential roles in her life.
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Denzel Washington excels as the Bounty Hunter who has a complicated past. Chris Pratt’s performance as the young Faraday makes the character intriguing and lovable. Ethan Hawke as the guy who’s still being haunted by the war tugs at your hearts. Vincent D’Onofrio is clearly the shiner here. This Daredevil antagonist has a long, long way to go in Hollywood.
The script, unfortunately, doggedly decides to remains true-to-roots. It’s 2016 and there could be much more said about why the 7 guys decide to go into such a dangerous mission. Josh Faraday (Chris Pratt) is a guy who shoots a person point black because he held his gun. That such a guy decides to join, and stays with Chilsom because he paid for his horse for such a dangerous mission leaves a bitter taste.
With a more than two-hour run-time, there was no reason why they couldn’t create better backstories out of all the characters and give the audience some more emotional quotient. But may be that’s the soul of a Western, there’s so much emotion running all around that the men just don’t have time to sit around and wallow in self-pity. There’s bad men to kill and gold to be taken.
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With so many heavyweights on the good side, it's a surprise to see only Peter Sarsgaard on the antagonist side. The screenwriters decided to make the film about the protagonists instead of the antagonists and Peter’s role is a little more than a cameo.
But the one thing that the film doesn’t have, and that’s a crime -- an epic background score. What’s a Western without a score that’s just perfect for a caller tune in 2016?
At the end of it all, The Magnificent Seven offers good action scenes and some pretty good performances. The film, however, falters when it comes to the emotional quotient that’s much required - especially when it’s all about revenge and righteousness.
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