Les Sept Mercenaires

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.

Don't misunderstand.

Both Liam Neeson and Denzel Washington are in their 60s, both have defied the laws of Physics by starting brand-new careers as Action Heros late in life. and both are charismatic and talented enough to pull it off.

(Neeson with the Taken series plus a few other assorted action roles recently; Denzel with the Equalizer franchise and this strange oater.)

Frankly, I would be happy to buy a ticket buyer for all the action roles they both can dish up. If both these gentlemen want to continue to make these sorts of pictures for the next 20 years, I promise to keep watching.

However, leaving aside the star power of the lead in this production, overall this film is a borderline remake.

The original had a better ensemble cast, better music, and better acting.

This is an "OK" remake (as many other members have opined here) with arguably better pistol-handling skills.

And still a very nice way to spend a rainy afternoon.

Hate to be cliché voting this 7/10 but thought it was appropriate for a film of this nature.

I was sceptical, like I imagine many were, when I first heard they were remaking The Magnificent Seven since the original is such a classic. Being a fan of westerns in particular, I will jump at the chance to see a western in the cinema.

I really don't think this was a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination. It upholds some originality rather than just blindly following the original script and attempts a more modern and socially aware approach. This approach I do not necessarily agree with as it comes across far too forced at times, like they were attempting to recognise as many different races or even 'minorities' as possible.

It was cheesy at times, there is no doubt about this, but classically westerns were styled this way, being melodramatic at times and maybe one too many standoffs with intense close ups of characters staring at each other. In a way I like this though. I thought it paid almost tribute to the classic westerns of the 1950s and 60s. The famous lighting another mans cigar' scene was a pretty neat addition, and instantly reminded me of 'The Good, The Bad & The Ugly'.

The build up was worth it too was an awesome showdown and shootout, lots of well delivered performances and cleverly directed fight scenes. Not a bad film at all but definitely not a masterpiece. Worth your time if you're a fan of the genre.

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

Come on now. If you're going to re-make "The Magnificent 7" let's do it magnificently. Where was that great music? Where is the superlative cast that include Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, and Vladimir Sokoloff? You might argue that Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt are on a level with Brynner and McQueen, but I wouldn't. Pratt certainly has potential, but he doesn't yet have McQueen's star power. The rest are pale imitations, except perhaps for an unbelievably fat Vincent D'Onofrio who is certainly entertaining.

This is a modern re-telling. You might call it the Diversity 7. The producers threw in just about every minority you can think of – Mexican, Asian, Black, Woman. The only thing missing was a "little" person .

Personally I liked the idea of the woman, played very well by Haley Bennett who has been with Washington before ("The Equalizer").

An action film like this works only when the villain is villainous. Eli Wallach was terrific. Peter Sarsgaard wouldn't scare a fly.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed it. It's OK, but it's not magnificent.