A Revolta dos Sete Homens

Guns of the Magnificent Seven is directed by Paul Wendkos and written by Herman Hoffman. It stars George Kennedy, James Whitmore, Monte Markham, Reni Santoni & Joe Don Baker. Music is by Elmer Bernstein and Antonio Macasoli is the cinematographer. It's the second sequel to The Magnificent Seven which was based on Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Plot finds Kennedy and his assembled group of gunmen hired to rescue a revolutionary from a Mexican dictator.

Routine but very watchable entry in the "Seven" franchise. It's nicely cast with Kennedy, Whitmore, Baker and Bernier Casey effective, and the photography from Macasoli is pleasing and makes the Spanish location feel period Mexico. There's also good value in the writing as regards the characters and their hang-ups, while the climax is high on noise and adrenalin. Clearly not a patch on the original film, and when it all comes down to it this film wasn't wanted or needed. But as it is, it's a decent time filler for those after a bit of standard gunslinging adventure. 6/10

Essentially I agree with "palmer 4" on most of his major points. I am a huge fan of Yul Brynner's "Chris," and it took me some adjusting to accept George Kennedy in the same role, but I think Kennedy did a very good job. (And ultimately I just decided they weren't the same character, but that Kennedy was another Chris, perhaps mistakenly identified by the Reni Santoni character as the one Yul Brynner played.) Kennedy had a history of playing big dumb lugs, but in this role he showed he could play a big intelligent lug, and a charismatic leader. "GUNS" is far more entertaining than "RETURN" and superior on every level to the unfortunate, better-they-hadn't-made-it "RIDE." As "palmer" says, the members of the seven in "GUNS" are more interesting and have better chemistry than the members of the seven in the other sequels. (Although I liked the Claude Akins character in "RETURN" and think he would have fit in well with the original seven.) What makes "GUNS" the superior "Seven" sequel, above all else, is the humdinger climax, the attack on the prison-fortress. It was well thought-out and well-planned by the screenwriters and the director, and is almost as exciting as the climactic shoot-out in the original.

After the let-down that was Return of the Seven, it's good to know that the Magnificent Seven are in safe hands again. Dropping Yul Brynner and bringing on Georege Kennedy to pay Chris was a risky move, but it pays off. He may not look anything like the Chris from the previous two films, but Kennedy brings confidence and gravity to the role that strangely deserted the ill-at-ease Lee Van Cleef when he played him the for the final sequels, The Magnificent Seven Ride. There is a Zapata-like plot with Chris freeing a Mexican revolutionary, but to be honest, that's about it for Spaghetti Western influences. A Euro-Western it might be labelled, but it's closer to John Wayne than Clint Eastwood. So, don't expect a bloody, gritty Spaghetti with priests ears being cut off and forced to eat it, but an enjoyable Sunday afternoon western that, while it isn't as good as the original and not a violent, savage and sickening death of beating in sight, as you get in the really good Spaghetti Westerns, it can be liked and remembered with fondness.

After a revolutionary by the name of "Quintero" (Fernando Rey) is captured by the Mexican army and his small band is subsequently murdered, a lone survivor named "Max" (Reni Santoni) goes to a bandit leader by the name of "Lobero" (Frank Silvera) for assistance in helping to free him. Although the bandit leader has the men and the weapons, they lack a person with the leadership abilities to complete the mission. Likewise, nobody trusts Lobero to keep his end of the bargain. For that reason, the decision is made to have Max try to persuade "Chris" (George Kennedy) to lead the mission for $600 in gold. Naturally, he also needs some good men he can trust so he recruits a few of them on the way to Mexico. But even then the odds are not in his favor and when Lobero pulls out at the last minute the chances of success decrease even more. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was an okay western which managed to keep my interest for the most part. Of course, it suffers in comparison to the original film, "The Magnificent Seven" but that probably goes without saying . Be that as it may, I have rated it accordingly. Average.

Guns of the Magnificent Seven is by far the best of the sequels to the classic original. The cast is definitely the second best in terms of "up and coming" actors at that time, and viewers will probably recognize most of them. The plot of this one has Chris (George Kennedy) and a new gang being hired to free a Mexican revolutionary from a prison known as "The Rat Hole". Of course, the prison is run by a highly ruthless colonel, who frowns on dissidents, and tortures and kills for pleasure.

The gang here is an eclectic bunch, each with their own specialty. Although considering more than half the gang gets wiped out in every film, it's beyond me why anyone would still be crazy or desperate enough to join! I guess news doesn't travel over the border much. It's a shame that Yul Brynner didn't do this one (no insult to Kennedy), as it seems more dimension has been added to this character than we've seen before. The character of Keno (Monte Markham) is suspiciously similar to Vin from the previous two movies, but the rest of the gang are wholly original for the series: there's a black explosives expert; a one-armed sharp shooter (who happens to be a Civil War veteran - think of the word play between these two!); an old, fatherly-figure knife thrower; and finally a quiet rope expert who seems to have either cancer or tuberculosis.

What the film lacks in originality is made up for by the characters (and the actors who play them), great action, music and cinematography. The climactic action scene is definitely the second best of the series (although a couple of the gang die way too soon), and the movie moves along at a faster pace then the previous entries. Another interesting note on this entry is that there are parallels within the story to what was happening in the real world at the time of it's release. Racial prejudice, talk of revolution, overly harsh and abusive authority figures, etc. I don't believe any of the other entries touched on modern themes so directly. Yet they don't date the film, and are surprisingly still relevant today.

A couple small complaints: when did Chris's "price" go up to $600 a job??? It was only $100 in the first film and I can't imagine inflation rose that high in a few short years! Although each member is seemingly recruited for their individual expertise, there's no evidence showing any of these skills being used, except as an occasional afterthought. Strangest of all is when Chris says something in Spanish at the end, prompting one of the Mexican children to ask `What did he say?'. I don't know if it's just me, but why wouldn't a child of about 10 understand what was said in his own language?

While the overall execution of this film is standard as both a western and entry in this franchise, it still holds up better than the other two sequels, the earlier "Return of the Seven" and later "The Magnificent Seven Ride". Fans of the `Seven' series, or westerns in general, should find enough excitement here to hold their interest. Just don't go looking for a masterpiece, and accept it as one of the few decent sequels churned out by Hollywood.

**1/2 out of ****