“The Magnificent Seven” remake looks to bring back the Western

Outside of Quentin Tarantino, it seems like no one is really attempting to do Westerns anymore. This week, one does hit in the remake of The Magnificent Seven. This film, the latest take on the material, seeks to not just follow in those footsteps, but in Tarantino’s as well, echoing Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight in the process. Aside from remakes like 3:10 to Yuma, you have to look far and wide to find other Westerns these days, with the last memorable one perhaps being The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Come Friday though, Antoine Fuqua seeks to give you all another one to love. This remake, which is not only a remake of The Magnificent Seven film of the same name, but also Seven Samurai, is an action Western. Here, when a town is being terrorized by a land thief (Peter Sarsgaard), they turn to a group of gun men to save the day. Recruited by Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett), the seven men are Sam Chisholm (Denzel Washington), Josh Faraday (Chris Pratt), Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee), Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier), and Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo). Together, they will fight to save the people of this town and bring some justice to the Old West. The aforementioned Fuqua directs, while this version of the script comes to us from the duo of Nic Pizzolatto and Richard Wenk. Supporting players include Mark Ashworth, Matt Bomer, Cam Gigandet, Luke Grimes, and many more. Cinematography is by Mauro Fiore, while the score comes from the pairing of Simon Franglen and James Horner. I found the movie to be a mixed bag when all was said and done, though one that’s at least enjoyable for the most part. D’Onofrio, Pratt, and Washington are best in show, while Sarsgaard is fun as a villain, though it all feels a bit too rote. It’s not bad at all, but decidedly unmemorable. Considering how much talent is involved, it’s kind of a disappointment, though hardly an unforgivable one. It’s something worth seeing, as I’ll reiterate below, but lowered expectations will surely help. If you love Westerns though, I think you’ll mostly find this to satisfactory. It just never goes above and beyond in any way. Awards likely won’t come into play for this, though a strong box office is probably likely. For those wondering, here is how I [...]