THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (2016) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

the magnificent seven (2016) movie

Genre              |   Action Western

Classification   |   M

Running time   |   133 minutes

Released         |   21 September 2016

cast

Denzel Washington ... Chisolm
Chris Pratt ... Josh Faraday
Ethan Hawke ... Robicheaux
Vincent D'Onofrio ... Jack Horne
Byung-hun Lee ... Billy Rocks
​Peter Sarsgaard ... Bogue

director

Antoine Fuqua

writer

​Akira Kurosawa ... (based on the screenplay by) &
Shinobu Hashimoto ... (based on the screenplay by) &
Hideo Oguni ... (based on the screenplay by)
 
Nic Pizzolatto ... (screenplay) and
Richard Wenk ... (screenplay)

cinematographer

​Mauro Fiore

music

​Simon Franglen
James Horner

film editor

​John Refoua

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box office result

Worldwide               $ ​162,360,636  

Australia                 $​6,376,125

North America        $​93,432,655

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the best dialogue

Sam Chisolm: What we lost in the fire, we found in the ashes.

Emma Cullen: He made them murder my husband, he will take everything we have.
Sam Chisolm: So you seek revenge?
Emma Cullen: I seek righteousness. But I'll take revenge.

Bogue: Chisolm. Do I know that name?
Sam Chisolm: You should know it from your obituary.

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THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (2016) MOVIE IMAGES

Images

Posters

Images

Posters

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (2016) STORY SYNOPSIS

​Looking to mine for gold, greedy industrialist Bartholomew Bogue seizes control of the Old West town of Rose Creek. With their lives in jeopardy, Emma Cullen and other desperate residents turn to bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) for help. Chisolm recruits an eclectic group of gunslingers to take on Bogue and his ruthless henchmen. With a deadly showdown on the horizon, the seven mercenaries soon find themselves fighting for more than just money once the bullets start to fly.

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (2016) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 21 September 2016
Pop ​Movee Rating ⭐⭐⭐

Antoine Fuqua’s THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN successfully rides into cinemas off the back of the chemistry the Director achieves by way of his eclectic cast of characters. The body count is high, but it’s the small intimate moments Fuqua's captures that help this reimagining of John Sturges’ 1960 film deliver an above average viewing experience. Importantly, Fuqua doesn't fall into the trap of simply updating the original film, which itself was a Western genre adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. It's not until the new film's end credits that it lapses, albeit for a couple of minutes, into nostalgia; allowing the 1960 Elmer Bernstein penned main theme to sound out across the primary cast recap.

The 2016 version of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN takes the same premise (a small community terrorised by lawlessness) and works “The Seven” progressively into the story so the all-out gunplay fills the Final Act of the film. This time around the lawlessness is personified by wannabe mining magnate Bartholomew Bogue, played by a sniffling, handkerchief-clutching Peter Sarsgaard. Bogue and his cronies inflict themselves upon the small town of Rose Creek, which, unfortunately for the townsfolk, is situated on a very large Gold deposit. As is the case, nothing gets between a mining magnate and his gold! When events go pear-shaped for the citizens of Rose Creek, it falls to young widower Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) to mount the town’s rescue. While searching for help in Amador City, she approaches Bounty Hunter Sam Chisholm (Denzel Washington) to help her break Bogue’s vice-like grip on her town. Chisholm is initially disinterested, but his interest is piqued when he hears who it is that has taken unlawful control of Rose Creek.

In previous collaborations between the Director and his star (TRAINING DAY (2001) and THE EQUALIZER (2014)), Denzel Washington has carried the entire film. This is not the case with THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN...

By its very title, the film is an overt ensemble and Fuqua takes full advantage of this opportunity. Not only does he create a wonderfully colourful cadre of gunslingers, he adds additional characters and takes the chance to weave in an Old West version of the Michael Douglas “Greed is good” speech for his primary villain; allowing Sarsgaard to take to the pulpit of the Rose Creek Church and sermonise to the God-fearing townspeople that Capitalism and God are intrinsically entwined.

However, it's “the Seven” who make this film worth watching...

Chris Pratt, as Faraday, is the epitome of a man whose mental balance is easily tipped into extreme acts of violence. Pratt gets all the best lines but his wise-cracking demeanour is a thin veil for a cold-blooded killer who decides to do something “right” just to see what it feels like. The other stand-out is Vincent D’Onfrio as Jack Horne, a bear of a man who is seeking spiritual solace in his efforts to help the people of Rose Creek. He has a scene toward the end of the film, that Fuqua chose to film in close-up, which is an exquisite, subtle piece of performance that helps lift THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN well above average. The remaining supporting performances are all excellent and Ethan Hawke continues his streak of wonderfully-realised performances as Goodnight Robicheaux, the Civil War assassin haunted by the ghosts of those he has murdered for a lost cause.

Visually, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN starts slowly and improves the longer it goes on. Fuqua does not move the camera around a lot and his preference in this film is to use wide shots followed by close-ups of his principal characters reacting to what is about to confront them. Italian cinematographer Mauro Fiore, collaborating with Fuqua for a third time, is not especially imaginative with his camera position or lighting, providing a stark contrast to 2016’s other high-profile Western - THE HATEFUL EIGHT. Robert Richardson’s photography for Quentin Tarantino in that film was a highlight for audiences and gave the film an epic quality. Fuqua’s interpretation of the Western is far more workmanlike in its delivery.

On a sad note, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN is the final motion picture to feature music from James Horner, the Oscar-winning composer, who died in a light airplane accident in June 2015. Simon Franglen, a long-time associate of Horner’s, stepped in to complete the score, but he is not in the same class as his departed colleague. There are several musical cues throughout the score that hint at the direction in which Horner was headed, but these are never fully realised as Franglen opts for a much lighter approach, not dissimilar to Bernstein’s 1960 score.

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN is highly entertaining but falls a little short in its effort to convince the viewer that this new cadre of gunslingers are nothing more than just a band of bloodthirsty murderers for hire.

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