Good action, but that's where it ends
I went to see the movie as a great fan of the original "The Magnificent Seven" in 1960 and came out of the theater really disappointed. Not because this was a bad movie, but just because Antoine Fuqua made this a normal action movie which does nothing more than entertain the average movie crowd.
Sadly, the action is the only good part in this movie. Some shots are really awesome and really got me on the edge of my seat, but unfortunately that's where the good things ended.
First, the movie had to be at least a half hour longer just to explore the characters. I didn't care about anyone and although Denzel Washington and especially Ethan Hawke did an excellent job in portraying their role, it still wasn't enough to get me invested.
Second, where was the good music? I was waiting for two hours on that one famous song that made the original great and we got it when the credits rolled. Big let down for me. Drum roll and high pitch notes do the work for this movie, but it didn't make the movie stand-out next to all the other action based movies.
Overall, the movie wasn't what I expected it to be and that surely wasn't a compliment. Maybe I would do a re-watch on Blu-ray if they came out with an extended version, but that's a big maybe. The cinematic version didn't just do the trick.
Great action scenes, but that's it.
Solid but could have been better. As a massive fan of the original movie I have to say this one did not quite live up to expectations. I am particularly dissapointed in director Antoine Fuqua. This has not been his finest hour. I realize an assembly movie is hard to do because basically 2/3 of the movie consists of the assembly of the team which does not help to drive a plot, but there have been movies where that has been done far better and by less accomplished directors. Avengers did it quite well for example. Here the pacing was off. After establishing the premise in the beginning it loses a lot of steam while collecting the 6 other main characters. That being said the epic gun fight in the end makes up for a lot if not all of it. Still the fact that the movie stumbles in the middle part is somewhat surprising even more so because it was actually done well in 1960. I give it a solid 7/10.
Yes lets make a remake with more diversity so that everyone is happy and its political correct. Drab and stupid.
Those who liked this version are surely too young to have seen the one from 1960. For my part I still prefer, by far, the original. With actors who had charisma. Unfortunately, all dead today.
Not too bad as far as remakes go, but I can see why some fans were thoroughly disappointed in the result. It felt more real than the original thanks to good casting and performances, but the story just wasn't compelling and the characters are left undeveloped by the end - perhaps a mini series wild have done it better justice than this effort. Worst of all was the old, dated, cheesy score - not only was there no fresh music the style is still inappropriate for the period - Fail.
I will not give more then 1/10 with forced gay or forced racial equality. Juste hate when it is so forced. Grous!
WOW - a western in this millennium, and a good one, too. I found the action in this movie riveting. The magnificent seven were well chosen and brought a variety of flavour that made this a great meal. Good story, good acting, good action. I thought this movie was thoroughly enjoyable. I give it a 9 (superb) out of 10.
Nothing like the original , but it was entertaining. the cast was interesting I have great respect for their individual body of work so seeing them in this remake was enjoyable. No one can ever replace Brenner, McQueen, Bronson and Co. #ShiftvW8
Nice entertainment with good acting, nothing more nothing less
Good photography, but too many cowboy stereotypes, during the campfire nobody was talking? Some joke, anywa, the village houses too clean, is a movie for a family Sunday only.
Reassuringly old fashioned western, this may not be magnificent but it is an enjoyable remake of the 1960 original.
Good guys never miss and can survive multiple gunshot wounds.
Bad guys never hit and die immediately when shot once.
Here is my dilemma. I like western but I don´t like remakes. But since I like western more than I dislike remakes I gave it a try. And the 1960s version is kind of a remake itself.
Simply seen stand alone this was good. They adapted the story a little bit but they kept the spirit. It´s shortened a bit which takes a lot out of it. But altogether it was entertaining, the shootouts were great. There is one downside for me at that is the characters. I don´t mind the diversity but they are lacking depth. I remember watching the 60s version I really felt for them and I really believed they helped to do some good and in a way redeem themselves for what they did in the past. I totally missed that here. In adition the bad guy was lame too, again lacking depth.
I strongly recommend to check out the 60s version which is one of the best western with one of the most memorable scores ever written. It was nice to here that again in the remake. If only during the end credits.
Fast paced action, with a lot of bullets flying with a mix of the good, the bad, and ugly... you've got a man with no horse that has a few tricks, a bear that wears human clothes, a nervous sharper shooter, a Japanese guy that's good with his knifes, a Mexican, an Indian with a bow... and not forgetting the black man, the leader.. you can't go wrong with this film, it's got a magnificent cast, shoots a great western picture, and lots of laughter and good to it's original.
The Magnificent Seven is a thrilling and action-packed western with an excellent plot that draws you in from the very beginning. The cast is phenomenal, with standout performances from Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, and Ethan Hawke, among others. They bring depth and humanity to their characters, making you care about them and their mission to protect a town. But what really sets The Magnificent Seven apart are its brilliant gunfights and action scenes. Overall, it's one of the best westerns ever made with excellent performances, a gripping plot, and thrilling action scenes.
It was a good enough western, I suppose, but seems like, for the length of the movie, I would have preferred to see it done a bit differently. For one thing, there were hardly any back stories on the characters, so you wind up knowing practically NOTHING about any of them; makes it difficult to get invested in their character. Secondly, the whole scene with the townspeople "learning" how to fight…it was hard to tell whether that was supposed to be lighthearted and humorous, or were they just total idiots. Anyone with a knowledge of frontier times and frontier life would know that almost any man, woman, boy and girl knew how to shoot a rifle, how to defend their homes against intruders/invading forces, and wouldn't throw their hands in the air and cry for help. There were some good things about this movie; unfortunately, there were a lot of incorrect things as well. Having never watched the original show (or movie) from the 1960's, I'm not comparing this one to that one. I'm just saying that, as a modern "western", this was fun to watch but was far from accurate in its portrayal. Vincent D'Onofrio never ceases to amaze me...
An average movie, basically you form a group of seven...with a few farmland guys and you wait for the bad guys to show up...you fight and you fight..obviously some of those 7 guys will die cause it won't be interesting otherwise...that's what this movie is all about..
Here’s another one worthy of a half star I would give this 6 1/2. It’s not as good as the original but I didn’t really care for the original either. Denzel did the best he could I felt the script was weak and didn’t build enough relationships between any of the characters. It’s decent enough for a modern western to give it a watch, I still would like to know why Vincent D’Onofrio’s character talked with that strange voice.
very cool movie just a little but boring sometimes.
It is a confident film-maker who remakes the 1960’s seminal film The Magnificent Seven. No amount of confidence or star cast is going to make the film good if you don’t get it right.
With some beautiful cinemtography and fabulous scenery as credit in the ‘bank’ as it was Antoine Fuqua frontloads the film with his go-to actors from his previous films in the shape of Denzel Washington (Training Day, The Equalizer) and Ethan Hawke (Training Day) and an actor whose star is high in the firmament Chris Star. Unfortunately on the whole the film fails to live up to the premise.
The opening set-ups are entertaining if a little laboured, in particular the hand-holding and giant sign-posting that lets us know that Peter Sarsgaard’s character ‘Sir Jasper Naughty-Bonce’ is evil, like totally evil dude, was bordering on pantomime. I understand that if you looking for a realistic portrayal of the West in the late 1800s then don’t watch this film. This is definitely pop-corn, brain on hold, fare. Nevertheless, I do feel that my intelligence does not need to be insulted in quite the way it was from time-to-time.
As entertaining as those opening scenes were the ending scenes were as disappointing. I get the feeling that the Marvel Universe style denouement is infecting action films of all types. This film had explosions, as many baddies and goodies being, shot, stabbed, blown to bits and generally murdered as the average small war. After the end credits rolled the people of Rose Creek need no longer worry about n’er-do-wells as the local population of them had been totally eradicated, along with ninety-percent of the town folk.
Denzil Washington and Chris Pratt are always good value for money and the rest of the cast acquit themselves well in general. Peter Sarsgaard and Vincent D’Onofrio veer into pantomime territory on several occasions, particularly as D’Onofrio seems to be playing some sort of Brian Blessed hybrid. The need for every diverse type of population to represented in the ‘seven’ does not get me frothing at the mouth and red-faced as some reviewers and I can understand the modernising of the story but I’m not sure it was necessary in my view.
The Magnificent Seven was really The Average Seven and although the relentless drive for entertaining the multiplex masses has probably forced the hand of the director and producers I’m sure without such a big broad brush and some muted colours there was a good modern remake of The Magnificent Seven in there. Instead, this was slathered with the bright explosions of the ‘Why’s he doing that?’ crowd.
Antoine Fuqua can make good films and tell good stories, The Magnificent 7 was a good film and a great story. It should have worked but in reality it didn’t. It’s a shame.
I enjoyed this one; it was quite entertaining, although it is not really my genre.
pretty good modern Western with a nice diverse cast and some great action sequences
This is indeed a very good remake of an old classic. As always I am a bit worried when they make a remake of old classics that I liked. This remake is well worth watching though. Despite having a few minor gripes I went for 5 out of 5 stars on this one.
Most of you are probably familiar with the story of The Magnificent Seven. Gunslinger gets hired to protect a village from the evil industrialist, he picks 6 buddies to help him, trains the villagers, digs in and sits down and waits for the bad guys to arrive. A simple and well suited story for a bit of Western entertainment. I guess I should mention as well that the original Western is actually not the “real” original. That honor befalls Shichinin no samurai, or Seven Samurai in English, which is a Samurai movie by Akira Kurosawa and with Toshirô Mifune in the lead role. That is the movie from which the plot originates.
Anyway, history lesson is over, back to this movie. The movie starts of by introducing the main characters. The bad industrialist is a nasty piece of thug and quickly demonstrates that, although by no means being a blood splatter movie, it is definitely more cruel than what I remember from the original. Next in line is the movies hero played by Denzel Washington and I have to say that he plays the role very well. I liked him as the calm, fairly silent, but oh so deadly gunslinger from the first frame to the last.
The other characters fit quite well into their roles as well. I cannot make up my mind about Jack Horne though. I did like the character but at the same time I felt that he was a wee bit to comical at times. I also liked Goodnight Robicheaux quite a lot but the writer really went a bit over the top as far as I am concerned when he actually left.
Of course the entire movie plays out as a build up to the final big fight and it is a big fight, that has to be said. However there are plenty of things happening during this build up. Both things involving chemically propelled slugs flying around and things slightly less noisy.
Sam Chisolm has to pick up his buddies of course, each one being an opportunity for some cool movie story telling. Then we have the training of the villagers which, as expected, becomes a wee bit comical at times. Oh, and I almost forget that there is a nice little shootout when Chisolm and his buddies introduces themselves to Bogue’s thugs in the village. Said thugs includes the local Sheriff. To no ones surprise I believe. So much for law and order. Time for a new management.
So, fast forward to the end and the big fight. It is big, it is well done and it involves plenty of things that go boom. It is plenty of action but it is also the part of the movie where I have the biggest gripe. Okay folks there are going to be a mild spoiler now. With that out of the way, let’s go to the Gatling gun. It is always cool to see a Gatling gun let loose. However can we keep it a bit more realistic please? They fire thousands of bullets without reloading (they make a fuss about reloading later in the movie). Also they position the gun out in the open where it would have been relatively easy to shoot the men operating it. An idea that they finally get much later and manage to goof up. The final solution to taking out the gun is dramatic but quite convoluted. This is the part of the movie that made me go a bit what the fuck!
Apart from that I really enjoyed this movie. A good remake of an old classic.
You would think it is a great story and there will be a massive climax but no... Just kinda drizzled along. Good acting though.
A Hollywood reboot done right...for once.
I've got a special place in my heart for well-made westerns, and the original The Magnificent Seven from 1960 are among the top of the pile. It's homage to the Seven Samurai as well as the story and action were all done right...so I dreaded watching this for a long while.
The Magnificent Seven surprised me in a good way. Everything about it was just an all out, fun, western action. The cast was excellent, and all of the seven had their moment. The character development of the leads was just so-and-so with a couple of them, but I guess it wasn't time to go "in-depth" with them all. The only character I didn't particularly like was Peter Sarsgaards baddie...waaaaaay over the top, and made a caricature of a typical western crook. Could have been handled better...
This is a must see if you are a fan of the genre, and I believe most people that like their movies with fast-paced wit and action will be entertained as well.
I really enjoyed that movie. What you need on a relaxed Saturday night.
Watching this on an Emirates flight. It seems heavily edited...
Great film, However not as good as the first or even the film the first was based on. Still a fun film.........are they gonna make a remake of Return of the 7?
Good way to start your weekend
Good way to start your weekend
Excellent western movie, very entertaining
Great movie! Even as a remake. The diversity of the movie only helped. I don't believe there was an agenda with the exception of,"Let's get a bunch of actor's to fill spots that in any casted movie they would play alone in said movie." The entertainment factor is there. The over the top gunfights are there. What more do you want from an up to date western?
Sure a more cynical mind would write this off as merely a lazy cash-in, simply updating things by shoehorning in diversity, but that doesn't matter to me when the end product is a good time. Which this was.
A remake of a remake. Better watch the original.
Had forgotten how fun westerns can be. Awesome movie, way better than expected.
Its actually shocking to see a big budget blockbuster that isn't trying to create a franchise now. The Magnificent Seven is a great and surprisingly funny self contained movie that assembles a great cast with all the fun that you can expect.
I just have four words to describe this movie "fo' shizzle my nizzle"
it was way better than i expected. I liked it 8/10
loved the movie, very enjoyable and entertaining.
Id say it was good to watch a well put together western. They are a rarity anymore.
A great shoutout to both the original western and the Akira Kurosawa film it was based off of. My favorite part? They really mastered that "we're getting the band back together" feel.
I am entering western mode here apparently, and this viewing is what kicked it off. It has been a long time since I've seen the original, and I'm sort of glad. Now I hopefully am not too biased going in.
Overall, this is a pretty good piece of entertainment. No, this isn't some high end artistic film on the level that I remember the original being (not even close to Seven Samurai), but not every movie needs to be that. Instead, we get a really fun experience with interesting characters fighting it out in style.
Denzel Washington is a pretty solid lead in here, but I will admit that my favorites of the seven are Ethan Hawke and Vincent D'Onofrio. Hawke isn't exactly one of my favorites, but I do like him from time to time. Here his southern man character just has a great personality. D'Onofrio is pretty much always different in his roles. His voice is so weird, and the shyness in such a crazy wildlife guy is fun to watch.
There are a few problems though, mainly with the tech stuff. I really disliked some of the action directing. While the staging was good, the way they used a minor slow motion style here and there was frustrating. I don't like that style normally, but putting it into the old west just doesn't feel right at all. And why the hell did they wait until the credits to play the great theme?
If you're in the mood for a fun western, go check it out.
I loved this film, one of the best of the year. Fuqua delivers the expanse of the old school western, assembles a team that are interesting and entertaining, and all fight for screen time, never bored when any of them are on screen. The action is great, and the pacing of the movie is spot on. Another winner from Fuqua and Washington. I love how the original score doesn't play until the end credits.....at which point it feels it has earned the right to play it.
I give this movie a 7-magnificent; Denzel; Chris; Ethan; Peter; etc., are all good actors however it lacks the energy of the original..great music of James Horner #ShiftvW8
As historically accurate as Wild Wild West. I almost expected a giant robot spider. However, the cast makes it fun, especially Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy).
While Peter Sarsgard (Flight Plan) could play a great villain in his sleep. Well, just not in Green Lantern. Denzel Washington (Training Day) and Ethan Hawke (Training Day) aren't bad either but Pratt steals the show.
It was also nice to get one final musical score by the late great James Horner (Aliens, Willow). This just feels like a diverse Western to make up for all the white washing ones of the 60’s.
With nothing too realistic about how a black cowboy would be treated back then. I doubt he’d be as respected as the movie let’s on. Since racism then was even worse than it is now.
Shout by Ninja PoonBlockedParent2016-12-19T18:45:34Z
Shoulda been called the Magnificent 7/10