The Magnificent Seven

The Equalizer times seven. Fuqua doesn't show off that much, and so he only pulls a truly sovereign treat out of his sleeve once. The rest of it is standard action routine that's hidden far below his directorial standards, making the central seven whine even more in their uninterestingness, where about 1.5 charisma works in the flatness of the coffin planks. I've managed to miss out on the original for years, so I was expecting more of a B-action orgy in a Wild West setting than a major creative comparison, but the rescue of the White House chief worked more sovereignly. (09/22/2016)

Condemning it because of nostalgia or resistance to correctness is, of course, stupid. The film has problems elsewhere. The cast is strong, but Fuqua doesn't get much out of it, especially in the first half, just a demonstration of photogenic faces and poses. Things come to light in the final battle, and until then, sometimes a one-liner here and there sparkles, which Nic Pizzolatto knows how to write. The last third is a pleasant old-school battle with a good pace and quite pleasantly chosen deaths in the group. The problem of The Magnificent Seven is precisely that they are somehow indecisively straddled between a classic western and a buddy action film with a more modern style. When in the end there is a "Technicolor" palette with tombs and the notorious melody of Elmer Bernstein, it feels completely false. The golden age of the western is gone and this group rather swiftly passed it by. Which, given its composition, is actually too little. Sympathetic *** (12/31/2016)

The title makes the film a disservice than anything else. For example, many viewers would have taken it better to call it "Fast and Brisk", and without the inevitable (whether greater or lesser) disappointment that the duo of absolute classic movies of the silver screen, which have survived and will survive for decades, is remade in the form of an disposal relaxing movie that will soon be forgotten. On the other hand, there is the not inconsiderable fact that although it is a western second-rate one-time watch, it is a surprisingly fun and properly driven Western second-rate one-time watch, which is not afraid to use the screen to the fullest. In other words, it is consumable and unnecessary, but not bad. And in purely genre moments (graded tension before the first big shootout, etc.) it will keep you entertained. That´s for sure. (09/26/2016)

From the very beginning I was against a remake, but in the end I took pity on it because Pizzolatto wrote the screenplay, although clearly some cuts have been made, some motifs are not developed at all and so it certainly isn’t one of the strengths of the entire project. Capitalism presented as a villain, gradual recruitment and even the diverse seven somehow work. But the massacre in the finale is this year’s action treat. The cast is pleasant, Pratt is really fine. It can’t compete with the original, but I understand the idea of giving the Magnificent Seven a modern overcoat. So far, so good. (09/27/2016)

A decent and restrained remake of an immortal classic for today's times, bigger, noisier and more ethnically colourful, i.e. politically correct in the way that is befitting and appropriate in every other great film today. Washington pulls it off by walking, looking, and occasionally tossing in a morsel of wisdom, Pratt pulls it off by making wisecracks, and D'Onofrio plays the bear. The rest are essentially extras, which is a shame in the case of Hawke. It should be noted that the execution is also interesting. It’s top-notch, of course, with a fairly weird mix of classic, almost absurd shootout scenes where the good guys shoot in all directions and the bad guys fall like flies, plus well-shot fights mostly with bows, knives, etc. If it was R-rated with more catchphrases, it would have been exactly what everyone wants these days. But Fuqua had too much respect for the original and in his delivery it is both good and bad. (09/22/2016)

It's not a bad film, I'll probably like it even more the second time around, because it's not about anything other than entertaining the viewer and not embarrassing itself, and that's a pretty sympathetic approach. Still, I'm sorry that there wasn't a more imaginative remake that would have put The Magnificent Seven in a different setting - it could have been a gangster movie, a story from the Second World War, a Cold War retro, sci-fi from another planet... Look what Pixar did with that tired plot in A Bug's Life. (02/16/2017)

The Magnificent Seven, a deep-rooted concept in the world of cinema, an immortal opus that became a benchmark of the genre. Remaking this legend automatically confronted the filmmakers with a problem, the failure of which I felt almost constantly throughout the film. The problem was to make it a dynamic western, complex enough to satisfy contemporary audiences spoiled by the golden age of film technology, that at the same time would be a little old-fashioned and not too auteur-driven to satisfy die-hard fans of the original and classic western as such. Its failure could be tolerated just fine under the right circumstances, especially considering my personal sympathies for the cast and crew, some of director Fuqua's earlier work, and the tragically deceased composer Horner, who managed to flesh out the original legendary melody into a rather impressive atmospheric medley of his tried-and-true themes from Enemy at the Gates and Avatar. What bothered me a lot, though, was the terribly predictable layout of the script, which, while trying to dress up the original story in an unadorned modern garb and give the characters different motivations for their impossible heroic act, repeatedly applies the cheapest adventure movie clichés and uses an utterly primitive development formula that could have gone something like this: A) sparking the conflict and motivating the handsome heroine to seek revenge; B) persuasion: first the heroine persuades the protagonist to protect the locals, and then travels the country looking for help; C) finding and training the villagers; d) the final battle. Four stages of the story and, unfortunately, nothing in between to highlight them in any way on an emotional, psychological or narrative level. The main villain just acts expediently to give the "good guys" as much motivation as possible, and the group of intrepid gunslingers agree without any hesitation to take part in a mission that means almost certain death. On top of that, the titular seven, who in the original film where made up of distinct and complementary characters, now suspiciously merge into one characteristically unidirectional, but ethnically well-mixed cultural stew, from which we remember in hindsight perhaps only the carefree grin of Chris Pratt or the nervous grimaces of the only potentially contradictory figure, Ethan Hawk. As expected, the only thing that really makes the film worth watching is the fantastic audiovisual aspect, which means the two central shootouts are a truly intoxicating western experience, while the trivial riding scenes across the typical Wild West landscape are also a feast for the eyes thanks to the beautiful photography, or, specifically, Denzel Washington's final mid-shot as he emerges from the house to meet his arch rival, shot from a majestic overhead and with dust swirling against a sunlit backdrop – certainly one of the freshest shots of the year. (09/27/2016)

I decided to watch this as a classic western and forget that it’s a remake, but it wasn't much help. As usual, the Americans made it politically correct, so the magnificent seven were missing only a Jew and an Arab to make them complete. The brave Indian doesn't hesitate to put his own life on the line so that the enemy doesn't take the land the settlers took from the Indians. In fact, the whole thing looked like a United Nations meeting. I did like the film quite a bit in the first two thirds, but it quickly lost momentum with increasing poignant scenes and booming epic music. I was only pleased with Vincent D'Onofrio, Ethan Hawke, and Haley Bennett. (01/16/2017)

I'm not for banning anything; creators should have freedom as long as they're not infringing on anyone's rights, but making remakes of films like The Magnificent Seven, especially a film that is itself a remake, is just odd. The new film absolutely lacks any atmosphere; I didn't get a sense of the Wild West or get closer to the characters at all. Points are only awarded for the shootouts, which, on the other hand, are absolutely fantastic. (01/16/2017)