The Magnificent Seven
2016  PG-13  WESTERN  2h 13min
CAST— Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt
MUSIC— James Horner, Simon Franglen  DIRECTOR— Antoine Fuqua

     Far from being in lighthearted reboot territory, this gruesome remake shows how wild the West can become. Denzel Washington plays a mysterious roving lawman who is offered everything a small town has to call its own, if only he’d assist them in winning their independence from ruthless robber baron Peter Sarsgaard. Washington enlists a rowdy bunch of miscreants to ally themselves with the townsfolk. Their personalities and talents are quite diverse: there’s the gambling gunslinger who fancies himself a Casanova; the sharpshooting former Confederate soldier, who never goes anywhere without his knife-wielding business partner; the Native American warrior; the Mexican bandit; the Scripture-quoting mountain man. Each has a bone to pick with someone out there. Maybe they should just pick the bones of Sarsgaard and his minions. This ragtag group has a week to teach a town full of farmers and miners how to defend their loved ones. Starts out kind of slow but sure ends with a bang in a spectacular (though quite violent) shootout that may spell doom for more than just the villains. Though peppered with a few moments of gunplay the first two-thirds of the film are told with an emphasis on almost introspective dramatics. The final third is reserved for fans of action, which is plentiful. An exciting tale that is sure to please, though parents be warned: an R-rating would probably have been more appropriate than the PG-13 it was granted.
OUR RATING— ***
ORIGINAL— Seven Samurai (1954), The Magnificent Seven (1960)