Courier at the movies – The Magnificent Seven
As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money
Being a connoisseur of classic Westerns, I approached this 2016 remake of the iconic 1960s movie, The Magnificent Seven, with great caution.
Director Antoine Fuqua brings his modern vision to the story. Gone is the little Mexican town – replaced by the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue.
Desperate to defend themselves, the townspeople employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns.
As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money. As Chisholm (previously Chris Adam, played by Yul Brynner), Denzil Washington cuts a fine figure with his shiny Colt 45 swinging at his side.
The cast also tries to be politically correct: the black guy, Korean guy and the Red Indian now join the ranks of the shady kinda gunslingers, previously played with such great effect by Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn et al.
Older viewers would remember that right at the beginning of the first Magnificent Seven, it is a spat over the burial of a red Indian in a ‘white’ graveyard that first brings the two main protagonists together, played by Yule and Steve. In the 60s, this was considered great political commentary. This one does not go that far but it does have the Comanche Indian, Red Harvest, moaning about having to eat ‘white man’s food’ – if that these days is politically correct. The baddy, Bartholomew, is evil but somehow he cannot out do Eli Wallach who made that role his own in 1960.
The Magnificent Seven ends up being a bit too predictable to reach its full potential. The movie is an enjoyable ride while it lasts. Fuqua does his best to update the Western for the modern audience but doesn’t capture what made those films great in the process.
The action is big and sleek, the characters are charismatic and the film looks beautiful, but this won’t be a movie that stays with you long after you leave the theatre.
Six out of ten
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