imperfection is perfection
Sporadic film reviews by a wanna-be filmmaker
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN [2016]
Directed by Antoine Fuqua
Written by Richard Wenk, Nic Pizzolatto, Akira Kurosawa (based on original screenplay)
Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Peter Sarsgaard, Haley Bennett
Arrrrgh!! Not another one! Not another freaking remake! Please, Hollywood, stop, please, this is torture!
Wait. What?! This remake is actually better than the original? The original was a bloody good movie, meaning this flick has upped the bar not just for remakes, but for westerns in general.
And it is better than the original by a long shot. And that is saying something, given how good both the original film and Seven Samurai were. But Fuqua has somehow pulled it off, using an admittedly very politically correct approach it must be said, but he has done it, and he has done it bloody well! Kudos my friend!
When I first saw the run-time for this, I admit that I was a little worried. But by the time the final act came in to tear the audience into shreds, I didn’t want the carnage to end. I wanted more. The world of cinema needs more westerns, and this is a prime example of why the genre needs a full-blown resurrection.
Remember how in Fury Road, the entire movie was essentially three gigantic action set-pieces? Take away the first act of this, which of course is where we meet Denzel, along with the other six men, and what you are left with is a few brief gunfights that are brief but hard-hitting, and a final act that is simply relentless. I left the cinema satisfied, but damnit, I wanted more!!
The same basic story is here, no surprises there, but credit to the film-makers, this film stands out on its own. It deviates from both Seven Samurai and the original film. While there are a couple of lines that are borrowed directly from the original, and the original theme music is squeezed in once as a sort of homage, for a remake/reboot, this is remarkably creative and fresh. The slight nods to classic era Eastwood were also appreciated.
As for the acting, where do I start?!
Denzel is Denzel; he commands attention every time he is on the screen, and his introduction to the film is violent and memorable. Chris Pratt, who I’ve always thought of as a bit of a prat to be honest, actually delivers here; a nice deviance from the sort of goofy characters he normally plays. Sure, he does inject a bit of humour into the film, but it isn’t overbearing, and credit to Pratt, he tones it down and delivers a decent dramatic performance. Perhaps my favourite character though was the completely unrecognisable Vincent D’Onofrio, a god-fearing beast of a man who deserved more screen-time, as did the rest of the crew.
This is where the film falters first; obviously it is a challenge to give screen-time to all seven characters, but this certainly felt like Denzel and Pratt’s show, with the other five as side characters. I suppose this can be said about the original as well, but considering this has improved on the 1960 film in so many ways, it is a pity that we don’t see much of Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Martin Sensmeier, who has an especially small role. Hopefully this film will serve as a platform to give these men a chance in the future to shine.
Peter Sarsgaard makes the most of his screen-time, making for a believable villain, while many scenes are stolen by Haley Bennett, a strong women who refuses to back down and wants to fight amongst the men of the town for their land, for their freedom.
While the gunfights are a lot of fun to watch, much like almost every Hollywood action film I can think of, there are far too many cuts and not enough long takes, meaning the fighting feels fractured and it is often hard to keep track of who is being shot. It isn’t a deal-breaker, and the final showdown certainly isn’t lacking in suspense or action, but I couldn’t help but feel that it all could have been captured in a way that kept the action but also gave us a clear view of what was happening. Perhaps they intentionally went for this approach, as it does lend the film’s shoot-outs a sense of urgency.
But hey, perhaps I should quit being an arm-chair DOP, eh?
Apart from these little quibbles, there isn’t really anything bad to say about this. It is a ton of fun, it looks spectacular, and the sound effects work is brilliant,
from the sounds of glass breaking to the constant shooting to the sound of horse shoes hitting the dirt. The score delivered by Simon Franglen and James Horner is also excellent – not intrusive, but enough to add to the atmosphere. As far as remakes go, this is up there with True Grit in terms of quality. It doesn’t quite reach the level that the Coens did, but it certainly delivers an entertaining, action filled flick that is not boring for a second. A two-hour-plus movie has never felt so short.
One a beer short of a sixer
5/6
30 Comments on “THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN [2016]”
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imperfection is perfection 
Glad you liked this Jordan! I’m not generally into Westerns, but we might go see it on Friday as I missed the press screening.
Btw, just read this http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-37481256 Hope you are doing ok!
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Yeah it was pretty insane. Power was out for two days, I haven’t done so much reading in the last year!! It was a good thing in a way, it forced me to fill my time with reading or playing drums/bass guitar.
And yeah I loved this. Couldn’t believe how short it felt. Chris Pratt stood out a bit, but nowhere near as much as I thought he would. I watched the original a few days ago, and I like the remake better 😀
Not sure about Seven Samurai though
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I like Chris Pratt, such a likable guy, he’s the anti Gosling for me 😉
That’s good that you’re able to do stuff whilst power is out. I remember when there was a power outage a while back I ended up taking a nap and I almost never take naps as I always got too much to do, so that was nice 😃
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Hehe, I probably pissed off the whole neighbourhood, they all have no power and I’m smashing away on my drum kit, haha. No electricity needed! 😀
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Oh, and thanks for the link btw!
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Nice review! You summed it up nicely. I would also have liked to see more of the other five but hard to say they should have taken screen time from Denzel to do it.
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True that! TBH this is the most fun I have had in an action film since Mad Max.
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I was initially deterred by the “remake” stamp it had on it, but didn’t care since I hadn’t seen the originals. And I actually really, really liked this movie. I have little to no complaints, and I’m glad you don’t either! I’m afraid this movie will be easily forgotten, but it shouldn’t…
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Totally. It will get lost in the shuffle of awful remakes, but this just isn’t one of those. So much damned fun!
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Great review, man! I’m glad you liked this because your thoughts are very much in line with what I’m expecting from this movie. I love Seven Samurai which is immortal, but I never really cared for the 1960 remake so this remake doesn’t have to much of a bar to hit in my eyes anyways, but it’s heartening to hear it’s actually pretty good and fun.
Looking forward to seeing this.
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I seem to be in the minority but I had a ton of fun man. I didn’t really like the original either, it was good but this version was much more entertaining
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You really seemed to like this one Jordan. Good review dude.
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Cheers mate! Bugger the flaws, this is just some great fun out in the old west. Denzel is just awesome
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I think it is a given that Denzel Washington will be solid in anything.
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Haha indeed! Solid actor every time around, I need to see more stuff with him in it
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He’s incapable of giving a bad performance, always has a great dignity.
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I need to see more of his movies I think mate!
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Oh there are plenty of good ones out there.
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I’m queuing up The Book of Eli. My mate tells me Denzel is amazing in it
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Yeah he is very good in that one. He kicks ass in Man On Fire too.
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Man on Fire, I’ll have to list that one down as well. Damn man my list is getting so long I’ll be 50 before I watch them all!
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At least you’ll be entertained in the run up to 50! You can never watch too many films.
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Hey that is very true. Can never watch too much film, it isn’t possible! Friends of mine tell me that they need to be in the ‘mood’ to watch a movie, which I don’t get because they’ll happily sit and watch an entire F1 race or a UFC card. I guess I’m too obsessed with film for my own good, my mates rarely want to go see a flick with me!
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I’ll take a movie every day of the week if possible.
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Me too. The only mood that makes me not keen for a movie is if I’m really tired. Or if I’ve slipped up and am smoking pot – if I’m doing that there is no point as I won’t remember shit and therefore won’t have a thing to write about!
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I can’t watch a film if I’m tired, no point.
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yeah exactly, much like if you are stoned or drunk. Waste of time.
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You can’t concentrate on the film so there is no point.
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I really liked this one too man. Fun, but without being silly. And an awesome, diverse cast too.
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Exactly! Fun without being too silly. That is what I thought. Some of it didn’t make sense, but even in Seven Samurai some of it doesn’t really make logical sense!
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