Les Sept Mercenaires

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.

The Western has long become a rarity on the big screen, replaced over the last few decades as the dominant action genre first by bulging muscles and explosions, then by spandex and superpowers. So this big-budget remake of the 1960 classic comes as a welcome breath of tobacco-filled air, even if it doesn't quite live up to its predecessor. But as a piece of popcorn entertainment, it fires on all cylinders. Not surprisingly with Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer, Shooter) calling the shots, subtlety is pushed aside for frenetic set pieces and belief-defying heroics, especially in the wild climactic showdown that demonstrates minimal CGI does not equal minimal fun. Amongst all the balletic gunplay and macho posturing there's a relatively simple story: town is overrun by a dastardly villain (Peter Sarsgaard oozing creepiness), town employs cowboys-for-hire (guess how many) for protection, town fights with said cowboys leading the way. That the plot requires little more explanation then that highlights the focus of the movie, for better and for worse, however the fact it never feels shallow or superficial can be attributed to the exhilarating action and the ultra-cool cast. And what a fantastic cast it is. Denzel Washington is reliably charismatic as the contemplative leader, Chris Pratt is magnetic as the group's joker, Ethan Hawke is intense as the tormented sniper, Byung-hun Lee is enigmatic as the blade-wielding assassin, Vincent D'Onofrio is intriguing as the philosophical killer and Haley Bennett is fierce as the townswoman who stands her ground. Best of all, the eclectic characters – also including Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as the rowdy Mexican and Martin Sensmeier as the Indian warrior – share a wonderful chemistry that makes them utterly watchable from start to finish. An energetic remake with style to spare, The Magnificent Seven is a rip-roaring adventure that'll please long-neglected Western fans to no end.

After I saw the trailer of the movie I was expecting a fun western with just good action and nice characters because the cast is great on paper, but then the question of course is if it also works for the movie. Well for me it worked. I just had a lot of fun with it.

I have to say that I haven't seen the original movies that this is a remake of so I didn't have that to compare it to, therefore if I compare it to something, I compare it to other movies I have seen.

Because the movie has a lot of things I have already seen in other movies (I won't say what because that may be considered spoiling the movie). Therefore the story isn't what makes this movie and if you're looking for a great story, the movie might not be for you.

What the movie does have first of all is a great cast that delivers. Denzel Washington gives the best performance of the movie by far but also Chris Pratt shows that Guardians wasn't a fluke, Hawke, D'Onofrio and just the entire cast works very well together for this nice team of 7 misfits that has to save the town.

Also the action is great, it's very true to the old westerns. There are some very tense stand-offs and when the shooting starts, the action is fantastically shot, directed and just well executed.

And the movie has a good sense of humor, there are good comedic moments that give good levity to the movie.

Because the movie actually is pretty towards an R-rated movie, it has some harsh and brutal things happening that might not be for kids. It's one of the most mature PG-13 movies I have seen.

All in all, the Magnificent Seven is a fun time in the theater, probably not as good as the original but better than most remakes these days (looking at you Ghostbusters) and I give it an 8.5/10

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!

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.