The Magnificent Seven
I am usually very leery of remakes, but after seeing the new reboot of the majestic western a few days ago, I was pleasantly surprised! This movie is what a fun night at the movies should be all about. Denzel Washington plays bounty hunter Sam Chisolm who is recruited by Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) to help save her town after her husband is murdered by super villain Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Saarsgaard). Sam then recruits – you guessed it – 6 more men to take on the evil Bartholomew. All three actors mentioned above along with Chris Pratt (who plays Josh Faraday) have standout performances.
The story follows most of the 1960 classic, but has enough differences to bring the epic western into the current age. The humor alone is a welcome addition that the original lacked in. (Mostly thanks to the fantastic work of Pratt.) The action sequences are great and the diverse new cast all complement each other very well! In fact, director Antoine Fuqua did such a great job balancing this ensemble, that I didn’t even realize that the movie was over 2 hours!
I’d definitely recommend this movie as a fun ride and one that your fathers will all like as well! Solid 8 out 10.
