The only movie that I have seen that could be technically be classified as a western is “Blazing Saddles.” Apart from that, I know people like Clint Eastwood by name alone, not by his steely eyed performances from the 50s-60s era of cowboy epics, which is why I went into “The Magnificent Seven” not expecting anything. I didn’t think it would be terrible, but I had no idea what to make of it.
Well, it turns out that I should have had high expectations for it.
The story goes that a tyrannical tycoon wants a town for its gold mines, and threatens the townspeople, telling them to evacuate or he’ll kill them all.
To make sure his threat doesn’t fall on deaf ears, he shoots and kills multiple men in the town before leaving with a three week return date.
Only problem is that the widow of one of the men he killed is furious, fierce and ready to fight. So, she hires a Bounty Hunter of sorts, and they find a ragtag bunch of western types and head back to the town to prepare for the inevitable showdown.
The group of seven men come off like Western Avengers with one falling into each archetype: the leader, the drunken troublemaker, the strong silent type, etc.
While headlined by Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt turns in an engaging, troublesome but solemn performance here. The same goes for the rest of the cast with particular praises going to Vincent D'Onofrio’s old and withered prophecy-spouting miner Jack Horne and Haley Bennett as the widow roping the men together, Emma Cullen. Her steel gaze and quick shooting only adds to the remarkable sense of energy and diversity.
Anyone expecting action from the moment the camera lights up should be forewarned, this movie is closer to the classic westerns. By that I mean that the audience sits through long bits of well-written and well-paced dialogue and character building, and are then rewarded with cowboy shootouts.
These shootouts are the best part of the film, and they help to show how overdone modern action films are.
Director Antoine Fuqua, the man behind “Southpaw” and “Training Day,” allows his fights to go down with little more than some fire, some pistols and rifles and a bit of TNT.
This classic western approach, which avoids the trope of modern action films by loading up the arsenal with every type of gun imaginable, helps give the movie some of its charm.
“The Magnificent Seven” shows that the West still holds some surprises, but the real surprise is how exciting a film can be, having only two major battles when most modern action films have at least an hour of bullets whizzing by.
“The Magnificent Seven” won’t win any awards or be remembered like the classic western or action flicks. However, it is elevated by engaging and worthwhile action sequences, a robust cast and some wonderful payoff. Plus, I’ll be damned if it isn’t a whole lot of fun. 4.4/5
Photo Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, Columbia Pictures, LStar Capital, Village Roadshow Pictures, Pin High Productions, and Escape Artists.
