Denzel
Washington Chris Pratt Ethan Hawke Vincent D’Onofrio Haley Bennett
Peter
Sarsgaard Byung-hun Lee Manuel Garcia-Rulfo Martin Sensmeier
A motley group of seven men recruited one by
one by a Kansas Warranty Officer Chisolm (Washington) band together to rescue a
farming town from the evil miner Bartholomew Bogue (Sarsgaard), who wants their
land and is willing to give them only a pittance for it and simply kill them if
they refuse. Chisolm is retained
by Emma Cullen (Bennett), whose husband was one of those killed, but he agrees
only after she gives him a significant bit of information.
Gradually, Chisolm meets up with a few
malcontents who join him for one reason or another: card shark/gambler/trickster Faraday (Pratt), haunted sharp
shooter Robicheaux (Hawke), tracker-with-a-tomahawk Horne (D’Onofrio),
knife-wielding assassin Billy Rocks (Lee), Mexican outlaw on the run Vasquez
(Garcia-Rulfo), and Comanche arrows and bullets sharp shooter Red Harvest
(Sensmeier). These guys are not only
colorful in their backgrounds, they bring much of the humor of the movie
(sometimes a bit corny), presumably to balance the extreme violence shown in
the film. All these actors are
superb in their roles, and elevate the film above the mundane script.
Chisolm sends the cowardly sheriff (Dane Rhodes)
to take the message to Bogue that the townsmen will not give up without a
fight, and that he and his men will be defending them. When Bogue learns there are only seven
defenders, he thinks it will be a piece of cake. His lackeys put together a small army, and head toward the
town. But Chisolm is a strategist
who is able to anticipate his enemy’s maneuvers, and has made detailed plans
involving explosive booby traps, trenches, placements of shooters, and even
weapons training for the locals.
The battle that ensues is bloody and long, complicated by a ferocious
weapon mercilessly fired by Bogue.
This remake of two earlier films considered
masterful, one in 1954 (Seven Samurai)
by Akira Kurosawa, legendary Japanese filmmaker, and one in 1960 (The Magnificent Seven) by John Sturges
seems unnecessary. There could
have been more updates, such as modernizing and making more realistic—even for
the 19th Century—the Bennett character Emma. For example, she defended the town
admirably and saved Chisolm’s life, but he didn’t even thank her; instead, he
took her gun away from her. The
filmmakers made sure that we would see her cry more than once, just to
emphasize once again the stereotypical female. Here’s a thought:
Include her and call the film The
Magnificent Eight.
Musician James Horner should be acknowledged
for his contribution to this film.
He had made considerable progress on the score, but died before the work
was completed, so Simon Frangien was enlisted to complete it. Mauro Fiore’s cinematography does
justice to the exquisite western landscape, and his filming of the action
scenes is artistic, as is the usual for him.
For western fans not bothered by
mediocre remakes, this will hold your attention.
Grade: C By Donna
R. Copeland
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