Les Sept Mercenaires

Most of the bad reviews are coze its been compared to the original one. But if u forget about it and lay back, its a good movie with great acting. My favorite is always Ethan Hawke. Of course whats missing is some really good music but hey, we heard worse, right

My only critique is with the Emma character. She's supposedly a pioneering woman...tough no-nonsense. But her dress says otherwise. Off the shoulder, low cut? Not the reality of the day at that time. If y'all wanted sexy keep it authentic...not contrived out of Hollywood!

You sit down, ready for an old-school, sweat-soaked, gunpowder-packed western, and instead, you're greeted with a team of mercenaries that looks more like the cast of Fortnite than the Wild West. Denzel Washington as a Black cowboy hired by an entire town without a single racist redneck raising an eyebrow, a perfectly diverse set of characters, and even an Indigenous warrior who's not a walking stereotype. At this point, it's less of a western and more like an illustrated brochure from the UN.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for representation, but these historical inaccuracies hurt. These are characters who, historically, would probably be at each other's throats. Instead, they're cooperating like it's a special Dora the Explorer western edition. A bit of casual racism is thrown at a few Asian characters to tick a box, but otherwise, everything's running as smoothly as a community picnic. The historical realism here has about the same credibility as Greta Thunberg giving a keynote speech at an oil industry convention.

Luckily, the cast itself is rock solid. Denzel Washington? Still the king. The man could play a scarecrow and radiate charisma. Chris Pratt does his usual jokester routine, and surprisingly, it works. Vincent D'Onofrio plays a gruff giant with a smoker's rasp that'll make you crave straight whiskey. Honestly, the actors carry the film, and they don't disappoint.

The plot? Simple: bad guys show up, terrorize the town, and our seven mercenaries come in to light them up. It's a basic premise, and that's okay. Antoine Fuqua isn't trying to reinvent the wheel, and that's actually refreshing. Sometimes a western just needs guns, horses, and a final standoff to work. The structure is classic: gather the team, prepare for battle, and end with a grand, chaotic shootout. It's clean, efficient, and it smells of gunpowder.

Let's be honest: no one came to this movie looking for a deep narrative or Oscar-winning writing. We wanted epic gunfights, burning saloons, and bad guys dropping like bowling pins. And on that front, the film delivers. The final showdown is a beautifully orchestrated mess of whistling bullets, galloping horses, and bodies hitting the dirt like a Red Dead Redemption heist gone horribly wrong.

The Magnificent Seven is like a big, greasy hamburger: it doesn't innovate, but it satisfies your craving for action. Don't go searching for moral depth or a profound lesson. If you want a modern western that sticks to the basics and entertains, you're good to go. But if you're a John Wayne purist, be prepared to grit your teeth.

Finally another great western movie!

To be sure, all the western clichés are found in this movie; and I don't have a problem with that! One of the things I liked best about this western was the pacing, sometimes I find westerns to be a little too slow (for my personal taste - subjective, I know) but I felt this movie nailed it, even with a run time a little over 2 hours.

The action scenes are great, very well done. The casting and acting was great - Denzel does a great job as the leader of this rag tag group of guys. Pratt, of course, nails the comedic relief role.

The movie carried a surprising amount of "heart" throughout it all the way to the end.

Here is the bottom line: Yes, this movie is worth your hard earned money to go see in the theater.

A remake of a great film that is a remake of an even greater film (Akira Kurosawa's 'Seven Samurai'), there are worse remakes out there than 2016's 'The Magnificent Seven'. Primarily 'Psycho', 'The Wicker Man', 'Rollerball', 'Ghostbusters' and 'Stepford Wives'.

'The Magnificent Seven' has its strengths but fails to live up to its title and one does question the point of it. It is well made visually, with an atmospherically gritty look and an evocative setting. Some of the action excites and the direction has a dark grit that is typical of Antoine Fuqua. While it is nowhere near as unforgettable or as iconic as one of film's all time great scores, James Horner's score here is demonstrative of what a great talent he was and how his tragic far too early death is still a sad loss.

Casting is very variable, some of the acting is very good, some of it doesn't work. The best performances come from Denzel Washington, charismatic as ever, Ethan Hawke excelling in an atypical role and Haley Bennett mixing toughness and vulnerability adeptly. The most interesting character relationship is between Washington and Hawke and gives the film the few glimpses of realism and substance. Lee Byung-hun is also good fun.

Others don't fare so well, not helped by that most of the characters are not that interesting and sketchily developed. Didn't think either Chris Pratt or Vincent D'Onofrio, both decent and more in other things, fitted particularly well, Pratt especially jarred and his humorous lines lack wit and don't gel. Faring the worst is Peter Sarsgaard, who just isn't sinister or intense enough, even in a severely underwritten role he looks like he's sleepwalking.

While there's a lot of blood and violence, there is little soul or heart underneath and some of it is gratuitous. The dialogue is awkward, particularly the humour which falls flat and often feels misplaced. The story suffers from an overlong length, a sluggish pace, a lack of tension or suspense and heavy-handed and pointless political elements. Won't carp about the political correctness like some have but it doesn't add anything. The illogical and anaemic ending underwhelms drastically as well.

In summary, has its strengths but not so magnificent and one does question the point of it. 5/10 Bethany Cox