I'm running short on time today, so forgive me if I rush through this...
Antoine Fuqua's reboot of The Magnificent Seven doesn't try to outdo its 1960 predecessor or Kurosawa's Seven Samurai before that. Short on pretense, and with this cast, The Magnificent Seven 2016 is the popcorn movie we've been waiting for all year.
Following a brutal attack on a small village at the hands of a greedy businessman (Peter Sarsgaard), a young woman (Haley Bennett) calls on travelling lawman Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) to help her find justice. Expecting a fight, Chisolm rounds up a diverse set of reprobates to defend, and hopefully retake, the town.
Chris Pratt, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ethan Hawke, Byung-hun Lee, Martin Sensmeier, and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo round out the "magnificent seven." They all fit wonderfully into their roles and showcase electrifying chemistry. Of course the bigger movie stars get the most screen time, but each character is afforded a satisfying presence.
The action set pieces are also wonderful. This is old-fashioned blockbuster filmmaking at its finest. A large cast of extras (Actual people! Not CGI!), practical explosions, gunfights and other in-camera stunts make the film feel all the more refreshing even as its story retreads familiar plot points.
It's nice to get a solid western in your cinematic diet every once in awhile. The Magnificent Seven 2016 may itself only be as healthy and invigorating as the popcorn devoured while watching it, but it comes to us at an appropriate sociopolitical time. This is a reboot I don't think anybody realized we needed, but it's here now, and it deserves your attention.
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