The Magnificent Seven, a classic many are very familiar with, I know I am. When one hears the name you can’t help but immediately think of that great theme music the original movies carry as well as legends such as Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen…the list is endless. Thinking of even attempting to create the same story in a modern setting was always going to be a huge task not to mention very ballsy…yep, ballsy.
Never mind the script itself, the question of who to cast was one decision that could either make or break the whole thing. Despite this though, who decided to put their hand up and do it anyway? A certain Antoine Fuqua that’s who. By now you are probably asking yourself, did it work out and was the decision to have a remake of the classic a good one? Let’s find out.
The premise of the movie is set in the 1870s shortly after the Civil War, as the town Rose Creek is put under the siege of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue. In light of this the residents enlist the help of seven outlaws, a bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Washington), a gambler Josh Faraday (Pratt), a sharpshooter Goodnight Robicheaux (Hawke), a tracker Jack Horne (D’Onofrio), an assassin Billy Rocks (Lee), a Mexican outlaw Vasquez (Garcia-Rulfo), and a Comanche warrior Red Harvest (Sarsgaard), to protect them while they prepare for the anticipated violent confrontation. However, upon meeting the town’s residents, the Seven find themselves fighting for much more than money.
he above tells you all you need to know about it, and honestly, the simplistic nature of the plot more than works and Fuqua was spot on. Judging from what I’ve seen before, it’s easy to mess about and try to include a modern twist and be over-elaborate, this is not the case in this instance. And what of the cast? After all I did make mention in the beginning that this would be one of the most crucial elements of the whole project.
At first glance looking at the cast on paper you would automatically figure that there might be something to it with no way could the movie disappoint. You would be correct in that assumption. In Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt, the movie boasts two of the most bankable actors who are hot property in the business. When you include the rest of the cast, that also include the brilliant Ethan Hawke and Vincent D’Onofrio, you would have to say that this was very well thought out. There’s a perfect mix of wittiness, charm, seriousness and solidity throughout the whole ensemble.
Cast – Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett, Peter Sarsgaard
Genre – Autobiography, Drama
Director – Antoine Fuqua
Running Time – 133 minutes
Without spoiling it too much, all I will say is The Magnificent Seven is a great remake. It also doesn’t matter if you have some recollection of it based on the original movies that came before, the plot is pretty easy to follow and both old and new will enjoy it, I know both myself and the old timer did! An old Western (something we need to see more of by the way) that you can’t help and enjoy.
Writer: Papi Mabele