The Magnificent Seven
“What we lost in the fire we'll find in the ashes."
The Magnificent Seven is a 2016 American Western action film directed by <PERSON> which follows seven gunmen from a variety of backgrounds who are brought together by a vengeful young widow to protect her town from the private army of a destructive industrialist.
No idea why I decided to check this one out tonight but I had a hankering to get around to it for some time, admittedly just because of the cast.
I haven’t seen the original 1960 version of this story (I will get around to it), but last year I checked out Seven Samurai and loved it and so I went into this with good hopes.
I actually loved this too — it’s not quite cinematic art like Seven Samurai but as a version of the tale, it was really likeable and enjoyable.
Much of this is down to the cast that, whilst not given the time that the other characters are, still manage to stand out — <PERSON> is straight up perfect as a <PERSON> redux as the pair have similar acting tics, and both fill the same space very well.
The supporting cast is also solid, even <PERSON>, though my favourites were <PERSON> and <PERSON> who were definitely gay (side note: this is the second gay western I’ve seen <PERSON> in and this one isn’t canon but he still has more chemistry with <PERSON> than he did <PERSON>. Go figure).
I also appreciate that <PERSON> went out of his way to make this film diverse and it really works, especially since the film doesn’t magically gloss over racism but it gives the characters nuance and depth.
I called <PERSON> milquetoast in one of my other reviews and perhaps I judged him too harshly — he’s very competent and this film looks gorgeous. 378
It also helps that it’s backed by a wonderful score, part of which was composed by the legendary <PERSON> in his final credit before he died during the production and was subsequently followed up by his friend <PERSON>.
On the whole, I actually really loved this, mainly for the cast. It’s not Seven Samurai but as a film on its own merits, it’s very enjoyable. Recommended. 529