Movie Guide

  • 2016-09-21

The Magnificent Seven (2016) - in cinemas on Friday, Sept. 23

Director Antoine Fuqua brings his modern vision to a classic story in “The Magnificent Seven.” Written by Nic Pizzolatto and Richard Wenk, this American western action film is a remake of the 1960 western film of the same name, which in turn was a remake of the 1954 Japanese film Seven Samurai.

As usual, the structure of “The Magnificent Seven” is somewhat beautiful in its simplicity. An evil man must be stopped, and so seven guys get together and form an unexpectedly powerful team by combining their unique skill sets. With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), the desperate townspeople, led by Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett), employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers, and hired guns — Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington), Josh Farraday (Chris Pratt), Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), Billy Rocks (Byung-Hun Lee), Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money.

The sheer talent of the cast here sometimes provides enough depth to get audience members to the climactic shootout, and there are a few definite MVPs in terms of ensemble, but it’s hard to envision this film having anywhere near the cinematic legacy of those that inspired it.

The film premiered on Sept. 8, 2016 at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival and is set to be released worldwide on Sept. 23, 2016.

For more info on this movie please visit: www.imdb.com