The Magnificent Seven (2016)

[CJohn]

Discuss it.

[4815162342]

Solid entertainment. Not at the same level as the original film, and certainly not near the same level as the original source material.

[Ethan Hunt]

I spent 40 minutes looking at the ceiling because it was far more entertaining than the movie

Edited September 24, 2016 by Ethan Hunt

[Kalo]

The film starts out with an incredibly strong opening. in a church with Matt Bomer who I had no Idea was in the movie, and after his scene i kind of wish he was one of the main characters, Haley Bennett was also very good, and surprisingly had one of the more meaty roles in the film. after that the film spends alot of time with them "assembling" the seven, which is kind of rushed and drawn out at the same time, their reasons for joining were quite vague. But the characters were likable for the most part and the action, set pieces and score were top notch. I gotta be honest though, I love Chris Pratt, not his best performance. 

 

Still at the end of the day it was a very entertaining western with an old fashioned feel to it you just don't see anymore in films. B+

[jb007]

Liked it. Solid performances all around. Denzel, Chris Pratt and Haley Bennett stand out. Donofrio and the rest of the gang are very good. Antoine Fuqua has done a good job here. The action scenes are well staged.

 

While nowhere close to the original, it is a very entertaining western.

 

Rating: B+

[JennaJ]

Came back from this a short time ago and I had an absolute blast in it. Loved Denzel, Pratt and Hawke best. Did not see the original so had nothing to compare this to.

As someone who'd not traditionally a Western fan this was a really fun ride.

 

The Horner soundtrack was really good IMHO. Felt familiar yet still fresh and I love the allusions to the original theme.

 

Would give it a B+, enjoyed it from start to finish.

[Webslinger]

Sporadically entertaining but ultimately less than the sum of its parts. Although some viewers may question the wisdom of remaking a cornerstone of a given genre, 2016's Magnificent Seven has a fair bit of qualities going for it. It looks pretty, it has plenty of talent in front of and behind the camera, and some individual scenes shine with the crowd-pleasing intent for which the filmmakers were undoubtedly aiming. However, when taken as a whole, it feels unsatisfying on a storytelling level. As in Suicide Squad, the main ensemble suffers from a paradoxical condition in which the individual characters work fine, but their chemistry as a group is less than compelling. Despite solid character work across the ensemble - especially from Chris Pratt, who owns every scene in which he appears - I never bought the title characters as a cohesive unit, even in the midst of the final battle.

 

C+

 

And now, the stray observations:

 

1.) If - for whatever reason - you're still looking for evidence that just not showing blood upon the impact of a gunshot or a stabbing is all it takes to stay within the PG-13 parameters of violence, here it is! Even though I imagine that Sony wanted a PG-13 from the word go, the violence is still so blunt and stark that it feels like an R-rated film meticulously cleaned up to run on cable.

 

2.) I know it's bad to speak ill (or just snarkily, in this case) of the dead, but there's something strangely fitting about the fact that the final score from James Horner, a man who cribbed rather blatantly from his earlier work, cribs rather blatantly from his earlier work. I kept expecting the Quaritch's gunships to show up and act as the deus ex machina in the third act.

 

3.) I really couldn't help but think about this film in connection with Suicide Squad as I was watching it. I give this one a slight edge because it has more elements that work, a more coherent storyline (due in no small part to the fact that the plot is quite simple here), and a slightly less inconsistent tone. But both films are plagued by an ensemble that doesn't click despite good individual performances and odd shifts between irreverent humor and edgy violence (which, for each film, feels like it would have been more effective if the director had just been allowed to hold nothing back and go for the R, full stop).

 

4.) Peter Sarsgaard is fantastic in hammy villain mode.

 

5.) 

Spoiler

I have to admit: it's pretty ballsy to kill Chris Pratt off. I expected that they would keep him around for a sequel hook at the end.

 

[JennaJ]

6 minutes ago, Webslinger said:

5.) 

  Hide contents

I have to admit: it's pretty ballsy to kill Chris Pratt off. I expected that they would keep him around for a sequel hook at the end.

 

 

That was my favorite part of the movie. 

Spoiler

It actually surprised me that they would kill him off, because even though I knew it was a possibility, a part of me just assumed he'd make it. 

I love both that they did it, and the way it happened.

 

If I have to put my finger on the points where I think this movie could be improved - I did think they could have shown a bit more of the dynamic between the seven to flesh out both the individual characters and their relationships. I felt like a couple of the "bonding" scenes could have been better written to provide more insight on the group and their motivations. 

 

But really, overall I think this movie gave me exactly what it promised.

 

Edited September 24, 2016 by JennaJ

[Water Bottle]

It's fun, a passable way to spend the time, and when it works, it works but there areas where it could be improved.

 

B

[Impact]

Saw it yesterday-very good and fun. Very great acting as well. Enjoyed the cinematography (really hope it gets a nomination in that). The audience seemed to really enjoy it also.
A-

[filmlover]

An enjoyable and gorgeously-shot but ultimately slight remake, which is actually kinda disappointing considering the strong assemblage of talent among the cast. Antoine Fuqua is given a terrific ensemble to work with, but the script unfortunately ends up underserving a bunch of the actors (Peter Sarsgaard's villain character feels so inconsequential that one wonders if most of his scenes ended up in the editing room, while I can't imagine why they brought in an actor as magnetic as Matt Bomer only to kill him off before the opening credits even come up). Denzel Washington delivers yet another solid "movie star" performance that we have come to expect from him, but it's disappointing that Chris Pratt (playing a more dialed-down version of his Star-Lord persona) and Ethan Hawke are the only ones of the other magnificent six that make any sort of impression, which makes it feel like something of a waste of the multicultural angle Fuqua & Co. went for. As the Smurfette of the cast, Jennifer Lawrence doppelganger Haley Bennett is also solid. The climax is also an action-packed treat. This is a good way to spend a cheap matinee at the movies, although it's too bad they couldn't come up with something more memorable given the blinding amount of talent involved. B-

 

3 hours ago, Webslinger said:

5.) 

  Reveal hidden contents

I have to admit: it's pretty ballsy to kill Chris Pratt off. I expected that they would keep him around for a sequel hook at the end.

 

Spoiler

I was surprised but actually really appreciated that they went in a different direction for a change by having the only two to survive besides Denzel being arguably the two least famous names in the group. 99.9% of the time in movies, the ones who aren't established actors are the ones who end up six feet under.

 

[RobinHood26]

Solid B

 

The opening was the weakest part I thought but once the gang is together it works as fun popcorn western. The cast was great all around, but D'Onofrio was my favorite. 

 

 

Oh and they should have done more with the girl, they push her to the side. 

Edited September 25, 2016 by Jay Hollywood

[4815162342]

CLEAR SIGHT! CLEAR VISION!

[Webslinger]

32 minutes ago, Jay Hollywood said:

Oh and they should have done more with the girl, they push her to the side. 

 

Completely agreed, but I'm not surprised given that we're talking about a genre that historically hasn't been all that inclusive of the ladies. They can't all be Mattie Ross, unfortunately.

[4815162342]

Compared to the amount of characterization the non-Seven characters had in the original, it was welcome that Bennett's role got as much development as she did.

[Fancyarcher]

8 / 10 - The action sequences were well-done, and I really dug the cast's chemistry. Chris Pratt in particular made me laugh quite a bit (although he was basically playing a western version of Star Lord), but D'Onforio was great and over the top, and Sarsgaard made a great baddie, though he should have had a few more scenes. Washington was also awesome as ever, and it was nice to see Byung-Hun-Lee do a bit more to do then just playing a stereotypical Asian. Rulfo and Sensmeir as the Mexican and Indian didn't get a whole lot to do, but I appreciated their presence, but Sensmeir got a pretty neat fight against another bad Indian near the end. Haley Bennett (who reminds me a lot of Jennifer Lawrence, it's definitely the eyes), did some real kick-assing, but I felt her role got reduced by the second half. Still a very entertaining film.

The score was fine. I'll admit I did shed a tear when I heard Horner's infamous danger motif. Even though I've kinda torn apart his copy and paste scores in the past decade (Horner didn't really compose all of this score anyway), I'm really gonna miss his music in films.

[Avatree]

Looks nice, quite fun, Vincent D'onofrio, Ethan Hawke.

[Dementeleus]

17 hours ago, Jay Hollywood said:

Oh and they should have done more with the girl, they push her to the side. 

 

Old man rant: half the time, they had her dressed one step removed from a prostitute.  

[filmlover]

I quite enjoyed Haley Bennett in this, even if she ultimately had a thankless role (the lone female in a male-driven cast). Glad to see she's finally getting recognition after her delightful turn in Music & Lyrics several years ago.

 

On another note, was anyone else surprised that this was PG-13? It wasn't graphic or anything but it's definitely one of the more violent movies to get assigned that rating.

[4815162342]

1 minute ago, filmlover said:

I quite enjoyed Haley Bennett in this, even if she ultimately had a thankless role (the lone female in a male-driven cast). Glad to see she's finally getting recognition after her delightful turn in Music & Lyrics several years ago.

 

On another note, was anyone else surprised that this was PG-13? It wasn't graphic or anything but it's definitely one of the more violent movies to get assigned that rating.

 

They probably came a bit close with Ethan Hawke getting riddled with bullets then falling off the steeple and splatting onto the ground. Wouldn't be surprised if they had to tweak some of the blood effects and crunch sounds on landing to ensure a PG-13.