Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • 3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)
    • 3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)
    • 3625. Ode To Joy (2019)
    • 3624. One Chance (2013)
    • 3623. Falling For Figaro (2020)
    • 3622. The Polka King (2017)
    • 3621. Spies In Disguise (2019)
    • 3620. Friendzone (2021)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»1646. The Magnificent Seven (2016)

    1646. The Magnificent Seven (2016)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on February 5, 2017 130-139 mins, 2016, 6 - 7.9, Action, Feb 17, Movies Of 2017, Review, United States, Western
    7.5 Properly entertaining
    • Acting 7.4
    • Directing 7.7
    • Story 7.3
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke

    Director: Antoine Fuqua

    Running Time: 133 mins


    The Magnificent Seven is an American film about a team of cowboys who are hired by a small village to defend it against brutal aggressors.

    Recent Hollywood remakes don’t have the best track record, so you’ll understand why I went into The Magnificent Seven with a bit of trepidation. However, I was surprised to see that this is definitely one of the better modern remakes. Although it’s not quite as Westerny as the original, and it takes a little too long to get going, it’s a really good-looking, well-acted and eventually action-packed movie that’s a lot of fun to watch.

    I think the most important thing to keep in mind going into this film is that it’s not going to be the sort of movie that die-hards of the original Magnificent Seven want, nor is it going to be hugely pleasing to fans of the western genre. But remember, The Magnificent Seven was a remake of Seven Samurai after all, so changing things up isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

    So, let’s start off on the bright side, with the visuals. Although it may not feel so much like a classic western, The Magnificent Seven definitely looks the part. Featuring some absolutely wonderful landscape shots of the desert, as well as some perfectly-poised Mexican standoffs in old towns, the film’s imagery places you firmly in the Wild West, and that plays a huge part in making its story as convincing and different as possible from a generic action blockbuster.

    What’s more is that director Antoine Fuqua does a very good job when it comes to the action sequences. Although impressively few and far between early on, each burst of action is really entertaining, and at least doesn’t submit to the worst tropes of modern action movies (so no shaky cam here!). The best part of the movie, however, is the final act.

    A forty-odd minute long action finale that never gets tiring, and with Fuqua’s impressive direction, becomes more and more exciting and engrossing as the stakes get higher. Although it again feels a little too modern to be comparable to a proper Western, I was hugely impressed with how much fun I had in the finale, and the excellent direction, as well as the continuation of storytelling throughout, made it even better.

    When it comes to the story here, it’s a film of two halves. The first act is pretty poor, given that we spend almost an hour roaming around the Wild West looking for members for the team, and then giving each of them a superhero-esque introduction scene. The characters are well-established, and you do care for most of them when it comes to the intense battle at the end, but the slowness of the first act just doesn’t feel warranted. It’s not quite Westerny enough to have such a slow-moving pace, and I felt like that establishing act could have, and should have, been cut considerably.

    That said, once we get into the town the men have to defend, it all gets a lot more interesting. Still not moving at a particularly fast pace, the film buckles down with a great focus on preparing for the upcoming battle, full of fantastic dialogue and humour that makes for a really engaging watch. Then it’s onto the final battle, which is far more riveting than you’d expect, proving that Hollywood can carry off an action sequence well whilst telling a story.

    Finally, the performances in this movie are pretty good too. Denzel Washington is ice cool in the lead role, whilst Chris Pratt is hugely entertaining alongside, mixing his action chops with his brilliance to provide comic relief. We get a little bit of insight into Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio and Byung-hun Lee’s characters, all of whom also put in entertaining shows. The chemistry between the seven, as well as Haley Bennett in a supporting role, is excellent, and makes their conviction to fight for the freedom of this village all the more convincing and entertaining.

    Overall, I had a really good time with The Magnificent Seven. It’s definitely not as good as the original, and often feels a lot more like an action movie than a proper Western, but for the most part, it’s a hugely entertaining and impressively-helmed film full of humour, good storytelling and great performances, and that’s why I’m giving it a 7.5.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. Since January 1st, 2013, he has watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    7.1

    3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)

    5.8

    3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)

    7.9

    3625. Ode To Joy (2019)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    5.3
    January 17, 2022

    3620. Friendzone (2021)

    7.1
    January 10, 2022

    3612. The Lost Daughter (2021)

    8.0
    January 7, 2022

    3609. Licorice Pizza (2021)

    7.2
    January 7, 2022

    3608. Lamb (2021)

    7.4
    December 30, 2021

    3599. The King’s Man (2021)

    6.3
    December 29, 2021

    3598. The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

    8.4
    December 28, 2021

    3597. West Side Story (2021)

    6.3
    December 27, 2021

    3596. Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)

    Recommended Movies
    8.1
    Review
    November 29, 20130

    364. Quiz Show (1994)

    8.0
    Review
    February 23, 20160

    1264. Nights Of Cabiria (1957)

    8.8
    Review
    November 9, 20190

    2745. Marriage Story (2019)

    8.9
    Review
    June 25, 20150

    1003. Inside Out (2015)

    8.4
    Review
    March 20, 20140

    493. The Philadelphia Story (1940)

    Popular Posts
    7.1
    January 24, 2022

    3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)

    5.8
    January 23, 2022

    3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)

    7.9
    January 22, 2022

    3625. Ode To Joy (2019)

    7.4
    January 21, 2022

    3624. One Chance (2013)

    6.3
    January 20, 2022

    3623. Falling For Figaro (2020)

    7.5
    January 19, 2022

    3622. The Polka King (2017)

    6.0
    January 18, 2022

    3621. Spies In Disguise (2019)

    © 2022 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.