The Magnificent Seven (2016) – Film Review

Western’s are thought to be dead and hard for today’s audiences to care/have interest in seeing on the big screen these days. I find that this incarnation of “The Magnificent Seven” does a good job of combining the action sequences of modern cinema with the tropes usually associated with Westerns. The cinematography was very strong and visually beautiful. Great shots throughout the film.

Chris Pratt and Denzel Washington have great on-screen chemistry. They play well of each other. All of the cast gives off the vibe that they had a great time making this film and each brought their own charisma to their characters. The choice to have an Asian, Mexican, Native American an African American, and 3 white guys to balance out to have a well diverse cast was smart. It did make it seem more modern but it didn’t feel too modern to take out the believability. I liked Haley Bennett’s character, in that she wasn’t a typical damsel in distress. She became more of an action heroine, though somewhat typical of modern films.

Sir… I have a proposition. We’re decent people being driven from our homes. Slaughtered in cold blood.

Some of the negatives I would say with the film are the motivations of some of the characters, mainly the Seven. There isn’t that much put in to show why they would participate in the fight. You feel there is information you aren’t getting on why they either need to redeem themselves are fight for the greater good. There is a part of Denzel Washington’s character past that isn’t told till the end that would help a lot if it had been revealed earlier in the film.

Overall I would say this is a safe choice for a film to watch. With a lot of films/sequels this year feeling overly safe, I would say it goes in line with the rest and shows that Hollywood should try one or two things in each film produced which have some risk involved, creatively. I would recommend people check this out at some point. It doesn’t need the big screen to be watched.

7.5/10