The Magnificent Seven is a remake of an old classic western which many film nuts will have probably seen. This one comes from director Antoine Fuqua. who some may know as the director of The Equalizer (2014). The film stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio and Haley Bennett. The film is about a group of seven who go against all odds to challenge a big powerful bad guy and his group who have taken over a town and are doing a lot of very bad things there.
The Magnificent Seven is an action movie set in the old west. If you’ve ever seen The Equalizer, it’s actually fairly similar. Denzel Washington’s character Chisolm gets recruited by Emma (Haley Bennett) to rid the town of bad guys. Unlike in The Equalizer, Denzel Washington is not alone, he recruits six more men to help with the task. The story is alright and as an action film, you will get your fair share of explosions, fights, gun fights and much more. There’s enough to keep action hungry viewers entertained.
Where the movie isn’t so good though is with the characterisation. After seeing it, I don’t really feel I truly know anybody in there all that well. Sure, most the characters are gun for hire people and they get the job they need to do done. But I don’t really know much about them. It’s a bit like The Expendables, but in the west.
The acting is all good. Chris Pratt is his usual likeable self, Denzel Washington is cool and relaxed and Vincent D’Onofrio produces a very interesting performance. Haley Bennett played pretty much the only female character in the film and did well with her role. I’m not sure if she stood out because she was the only female character or because she was quite good with her performance though.
The film is overall a fun action experience. If you like westerns and are fans of the actors in this one, then you’ll probably have a good time with it. The story is set up in a way that things end up basically being a shooting gallery by the end and that’s alright, it’s an action film, I know. But I do wish there was a bit more to the story, however I don’t want to complain about it too much, The Magnificent Seven is still a good time.
