by RILEY GOLDEN//Entertainment Editor
A small mining town in the Old West is being pressured by Bartholomew Bogue to sell land for 30 times less than what it’s worth. If they don’t, he’s going to take it by force.
In the beginning of “The Magnificent Seven,” some of the townspeople gather at the church to discuss Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard). He shows up with his men to take the land, and he starts killing people for even sort of disagreeing with him. Things go even further south, as the wife of one of the men who was killed. Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) goes to a larger town to seek help, and she finds Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington), a bounty hunter for seven or more states. Chisolm was reluctant, but Cullen offered him everything and he had to accept.
Bogue somehow has the power to summon an incredible force of men, so Chisolm is going to have to recruit some men.
The first man Chisolm recruits is Josh Faraday (Chris Pratt). Faraday is portrayed as pretty much what you would expect from Pratt being a Wild West cowboy. For fans of Pratt, it’s a really satisfying performance. Pratt is hilarious, but he’s also a ferocious gunfighter, and it’s a cool combination.
Next they recruit an outlaw, Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo). The banter between Faraday and Vasquez is kind of racially fueled, but it fits the time, and it goes both ways. And, in general, the jokes are pretty funny.
Goodnight Robichuck (Ethan Hawke) and his friend Billy Rocks (Lee Byung-hun) are recruited because Robichuck and Chisolm are friends from the Civil War.
Last recruited are Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio) and Native-American Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). Horne used to get money for Indian scalps, but the U.S. no longer paid bounties on scalps. Both are total wild cards.
Once everyone is present, “The Magnificent Seven” set off to prepare the town for a fight. At first, they’re resentful. But they soon realize that if they want to keep their town, they have to fight to keep what is theirs. They won’t all make it, but it is a necessary sacrifice.
“The Magnificent Seven” entertains with a fun Western story and pretty intense action throughout. The action is fun, with the “Seven” antagonists dominating their foes in six-shooter and lever-action rifle combat.
One of my only problems with the movie is there was a subplot opened up with Robichuck as he seemed to have something weird going on with him. At one point he said something about hearing voices. Then it is never addressed again in the movie.
The remake of the 1960’s movie, “The Magnificent Seven” is a fun western film that’s good for bonding with your dad without sacrificing high definition. I give this movie a 4 out of 5 stars.
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