The Magnificent Seven (2016)

This past Sunday I saw The Magnificent Seven, and it was incredible! (After that I got a cold and I didn’t feel so magnificent.) I’m not a huge fan of Westerns, to be honest. However, to go and enjoy The Magnificent Seven was just a family question. As a kid, I saw the original movie thousands of times because of my grandparents. Then, as a teen I discovered that this film is based on The Seven Samurai, a film by Akira Kurosawa.

The Seven Samurai is the story of a village of farmers who live in fear from the bandits who steal their crops every year. It takes place during the Sengoku Era (Warring States) around 1586. Sound a bell? The Magnificent Seven is a remake of this film in American Western shape. Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece was a boom in 1954. No wonder The Magnificent Seven was also a hit worldwide back in 1960.

The Magnificent Seven (1960) cast included Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Horst Buchholz, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, and Brad Dexter. An amazing cast for its time. (In fact, my grandparents saw the film repeated times due to this amazing cast. And every single time the movie was announced on the small screen, they would do whatever to watch it!)

In this version, a Mexican village is raided by Calvera and his bandits. Fed up, the village leaders take whatever they have left, and they go out to hire gunmen to deal with their problem. They hire Chris Adams (Yul Brynner), a veteran Cajun gunslinger. After a while, he decides to find other six men to help him deal with the problem: Chico (Horst Buchholz), a hotheaded guy; Harry Luck (Brad Dexter), Chris’ friend who think he is looking for gold; Vin Tanner (Steve McQueen), a gambler who is broke; Bernardo O’Reilly (Charles Bronson), an Irish-Mexican gunfighter; Britt (James Coburn), who only joins to perfect his skills with knives and guns; and Lee (Robert Vaughn), a gunman on the run who has a crisis of confidence.

The new The Magnificent Seven cast is also magnificent. It stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Lee Byung-hun, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett and Peter Sarsgaard. And the story is similar to the previous film, but with some differences. One of the best is the diverse cast and characters that appear in it. (I’ll talk about this later.)

In this version, we find a corrupt industrialist, Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) besieging Rose Creek, a mining town. We’re in 1879, and the village is in deep trouble. Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) and her friend Teddy Q (Luke Grimes) decide to hire gunmen after many are killed and the church is burned down. (Casualties include Emma’s husband). They gather all the money they can, and they go to the next town. There they meet Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington), and they hire him to deal with the problem. He decides to hire other six men: Josh Faraday (Chris Pratt), a gambler; Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), a sharp shooter; Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee), an assassin who is good with knives and guns; Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), a tracker from the mountains; Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier), a Comanche warrior; and Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), a Mexican outlaw.

The movie is good, with lots of drama and action. But there’s something that stands from the previous one: inclusion. I know that Red Harvest isn’t portrayed by a Native American (it would have been awesome, by the way!) However, diversity on the screen is one of the greatest things that this movie can offer. Plus we’re also offered with a badass female character: Emma Cullen. Yes, she is afraid of the bad guys. But she wants to avenge her husband and recover her town. Hence, she takes a rifle. Although it’s not perfect, diversity and the strong female character in the movie make it an excellent example of how Hollywood movies should be made.

I wasn’t sure I would love this remake, but I must tell you: it’s excellent! The portrayal of the characters is magnificent, the cast is amazing, and diversity gives it a bunch of extra points. Highly enjoyable, dramatic, with action and a great story that will never grow old.

Even if you don’t like Westerns, I think you should give this movie a try. Beware, though: I cried like a baby during the movie. You’re going to get attached to some characters, and you’re going to cry about how magnificent they are, and how heroicly they die. (You don’t need to be a brainer to understand that some of the Magnificent Seven are going to sacrifice for the greater good of the village.) Prepare your tissues and hit the cinemas. You won’t regret it!

Extras:

• Subtle humor: it rocks. Don’t miss Faraday, Horne and Red Harvest. Pay especial attention to a scene with Red Harvest at the end of the movie. I won’t spoil it for you, but let’s say that he can do more than he says.
• Subtext: Billy Rocks and Robicheaux. Let’s say I ship them, and let’s say that you can find enough subtext there to write tons of fan fiction.
• Magic or lack thereof: Faraday’s cards. They guy has balls and cards.
• Martial Arts: Billy Rocks. I love one scene where he is teaching a bunch of villagers how to use the knives. Don’t miss that one; it’s funny and yet spooky.
• Humanity: all characters. Pay attention to the virtues and defects that each of them has. Let’s say; they are so believable that you’re going to love some of them and hate some of them forever.
• Badassery: all the seven and Emma. I wouldn’t think to cross any of them! If you’re looking for badassery, this is your movie!