The Magnificent Seven

When mining baron Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) threatens a town for its land and kills those who oppose him, Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett), the wife of one of his victims, contacts warrant officer Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) to hire gunfighters to come to the town’s aid. Chisolm then recruits gambler Joshua Faraday (Chris Pratt), Confederate veteran marksman Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), Goodnight’s knife-throwing friend Billy Rocks (Lee Byung-hun), Mexican outlaw Vazquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), religious mountain man Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), and exiled Comanche warrior Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). These seven will lay their lives on the line to protect the town against Bogue and his mercenary army, but will it be enough?

Remaking a classic Western (itself an Americanization of Seven Samurai) is a dicey proposition, but 2007’s 3:10 to Yuma showed that it can be successfully done. That and the talented cast were enough to give this reboot of John Sturges’ 1960 film of the same name some hope, even if the director (Antoine Fuqua) and screenwriter (Nic Pizzolato) seemed an ill fit (both are better known for their work in the crime genre). Then again, Fuqua directed Washington to an Oscar and coaxed a solid performance out of Hawke, so how bad could this be? In a word, fairly.

A predictable (even for those who haven’t seen the original) script and uneven performances doom this version to quickly-forgotten mediocrity. Washington acquits himself well, coming across as unflappable in a role formerly occupied by Yul Brynner. Chris Pratt is no Steve McQueen though, nor does this movie allow him to really be Chris Pratt: Faraday isn’t given enough wisecracks to compensate. Hawke tries to give Robicheaux a touch of pathos, but it’s sloppily handled while D’Onofrio’s high-pitched, screaming, scripture-quoting bear of a tracker is simply ridiculous. While it wouldn’t have taken much to improve upon Eli Wallach’s dated bandito cliché from the original film, Sarsgaard nevertheless gives a terribly hammy performance as a walking embodiment of everything people blame on capitalism.

There are, however, a few bright spots here. Some of the dialogue is in Mexican and Comanche, lending the film a bit of credibility. The ending makes good use of the original movie’s majestic theme. And the climactic defense of the town scene, is suspenseful and well-choreographed.

Given Hollywood’s affinity for unnecessary remakes, it would be difficult to single out The Magnificent Seven on those grounds, but familiarity and cheesiness make this more of a mediocre six.

6.0/10