The Magnificent Seven: a Western based on a 1960 film
of the same name. Both are based on the Akira Kurosawa film, Seven
Samurai. All three versions share a common storyline: a town is under
siege by evil individuals; seven men with no connection to the town rally
together to save the town and its people; and there is violence. The
2016 version is directed by Antoine Fuqua and stars Denzel Washington as Sam
Chisolm, whose counterpart in the 1960 film was Yul Brynner. Chisolm is
the character who brings together the Magnificent Seven and his introduction
into the story may be the best part of the film. Although Denzel
may be reason enough to see this film, like the 1960 version, the 2016 remake
has a strong supporting cast. The basic plot is unchanged, but the
current version has two significant differences. First, the 2016 Chisolm
has a specific, personal reason for becoming involved whereas in the 1960 film,
the motivating cause was simply righteousness. Second, the 2016 tale
includes as a significant character a gun-toting female villager, Emma (Haley
Bennett). The bad guy is played by Peter Sarsgaard, whose character is
evil incarnate even if one dimensional. The big shoot-up scene could have
been better edited as I thought it ran long and reminded me why some of you do
not like Westerns. But the bottom line is that if you like westerns,
you’ll enjoy this 132 minute film.
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