The Magnificent Seven (Antoine Fuqua, 2016)

New trailers

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This trailer looks more promsing then the first, but I sure hope the music/soundtrack is not all contemporary hip hop/new wave music. As everyone on this database already know’s, most american and spaghetti western’s have timeless soundtracks that never get old, and I think most of modern cinam lack’s truly timeless soundtrack’s. For example, I could not imagine watching The Wild Bunch ( or any western for that matter) while listeining to music that’s meant to be played a disco club, or dance club. Any note, I think the cast looks good, and the director has been around the block a few times, so Im seeing this the night it comes out. The last two western soundtracks i really enjoyed were the hateful eight ( mainly because of Enno Morricone,) and Unforgiven of course.

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I am mostly glad Tom Cruise did not join in.
I am still wondering why they call it a remake. What I see is another part in the franchise :smile:

It looks pretty good. Let’s hope the audience will pick this up so there is more interest in western movies.

I haven’t seen a western in the movie theatre since Unforgiven. There are some westerns I have not seen since then (i,e, Jane got a gun; the missing; Slow west; The Salvation) and which I still have to watch. Others like The Lone Ranger and a million ways to die in the west were horrible which made me fearful for other westerns.

First off, has anyone else seen this? The theater last night had about fifteen people or so in it, at 7 and I’m not sure if the 10 one was more packed or not. I won’t spoil anything, just highlight a few things I liked and a few I didn’t. First off, Peter Sarsgaard gives a wonderful performance, as a rich, unforgiving villain. He plays the part almost too well. Secondly, Washington is for sure fit for a cowboy, in looks, style, and attitude. Any fan of the director’s previous work should check this out. On another note, this film is clearly not a film made by Leone, Ford, Peckinpah, or Sturges so do not expect to see " the greatest western ever" or anything like that. Also fans of who do not care for Fiqua’s previous work will probably find this remake unispiring.

Haven’t seen it. Reviewed here (in Oslo) yesterday: «The Useful Seven. Good old days western with a solid cast and a archetypical story told several hundred times before.” 4 out of 6 points from that reviewer.

Sounds like solid entertainment but nothing new under the sun.
Nothing wrong with a good old days western, of course

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Yes, unfortunately Fuqua is a director from whom I don’t expect anything. Mag7 isn’t a great film either, but I doubt that the new one will beat it.
My expectation are low, but at least I hope it wón’t be such a catastrophe like 3:10 to Yuma.

Reminds me that the True Grit remake wasn’t a gas either.

Yep, agree with all that. Indeed, the few reviews I’ve read so far seem to be bearing this out. An adequate picture; which is disappointing for me because I naively allowed my expectations to lift a little upon seeing the undeniably exciting ensemble cast.

See, I thought the Coens’ True Grit was fantastic. If The Magnificent Seven compares to that picture I’ll be delighted (and more than a little astounded).

Maybe a second look will help to improve True Grit for me, but so far it is far away from their No Country masterstroke.

Hmm, a second watch of 3:10 to Yuma made that one only worse than it already was.

I didn’t care for the original, and I think the remake will be better (judging from the trailers). Fuqua is a decent action director and the cast is solid.

Trailers look good, but they might create a false impression. The original isn’t one of my favorites either - an okay movie, but no more than that - but it did have a great cast. It needed a little more action, and maybe this new version has it. Fuqua is indeed a good action director, some of the action in King Arthur is excellent.

Yeah, but Olympus Has Fallen is horrible. All in all Fuqua I don’t think that Fuqua is good with Action.

And the trailer does not look promising, but like the usual mainstream wishy-washy mediocre PG13 Hollywood stuff.

But, maybe I watch it though, and maybe it might surprise me, cause trailers always lie.

Didn’t realize he made that turkey, but yes, horrible.

His movies aren’t great, but there usually are great things in them. To me King Arthur is his best movie, but there are also good things in Training Day, Tears of the Sun and Brooklyn’s Finest. All these movies have at the same time serious flaws.

I haven’t watched The Equalizer yet, heard some good things about it.

Training Day is surprisingly a disappointing film, one which should be so much better. But that goes for several of his other films also like The Shooter or Brooklyn’s Finest. They are all way beneath their potential

So far only King Arthur is a good one.

Equalizer and Training Day are the best
Shooter is quite lame and King Arthur disappoints a lot

Saw it last Monday. Was’nt good or bad. If you do not compare it to either 7 Samurai (the best) and the 1960 movie it can be entertaining.
Characters could have been a bit more deepened. Also getting the 7 together could have been better.

And history wise, a Negro person in a high position just after the seccession war, I have my doubts there. But overall the movie is OK and has its moments.

I enjoyed this version a lot. It doesn’t compare with the original, which I saw on TV when I was about 10 and which made me fall in love with Westerns, but it looks great and has some engaging characters and spectacular action scenes. As someone noted above, you could regard it as a belated follow-up to Return of the Seven, Guns of the Magnificent Seven and the Magnificent Seven Ride rather than an actual remake. Only the scene where the James Coburn equivalent is recruited approximates to the original, though we do also have a gunman who’s lost his nerve (with an interesting backstory of respect between an ex-Confederate and a former slave). It does borrow a couple of lines of dialogue from Sturges’s film (which is one of the most quotable of Westerns), but not the wonderful last words.

As for the influence of other Westerns, I’m sure that Denzel Washington’s first scene was directed with High Plains Drifter very much in mind.

Though I enjoy a full-on shoot-out as much as anyone, I think you actually get too much of a good thing here. When the Seven first arrive in town, they take on a handful of crooked deputies, but the foes keep on crawling out of the woodwork and the final body count is about 22. It’s a great action scene but you can’t help wondering “where did that lot come from?” Similarly, the final showdown, though excellently choreographed, just goes on and on. There are only so many ways that heroes can shoot acrobatically and villains can collapse. I was actually reminded of Savona’s A Man Called Apocalypse Joe, an enjoyable minor spaghetti where the final shoot-out goes on for about 40 minutes, suggesting that the script writers had run out of ideas (though there are some nice, witty twists in that one).

Also, the villain’s Native American henchman reminded me of Ronnie Barker in that Two Ronnies “Red Indian” sketch. Sorry to have to plant that in your heads, UK readers. :slight_smile:

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Watched this tonight and enjoyed it. Not great, but some great action scenes. A remake, but with some capitalism criticism and a revenge theme added. It starts out like an Italian western and ends up like an American one. Didn’t like the music much.

Finally got around to watching this one with the family last night and thought it was pretty good without being spectacular. Christ alone knows what the body count was but it certainly kept piling them up. Not bad for a remake actually and the family all enjoyed it pretty much. Very noticeably adjusted for a 21st century sensibility in regard to racial diversity but also colonialism. Not a bad thing either.

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