'The Magnificent Seven' 2016 Movie Review: Remake Doesn't Reinvent The Western Nor Diversity
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- Last Updated: Saturday, 24 September 2016 13:38
- Written by Lupe R Haas
While the cast is diverse among the seven heroes, Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke and Vincent D'Onofrio are much more developed than Byun-hun Lee (representing Asians), Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (representing Latinos) and Martin Sensmeier's (the native American) characters. They feel thrown in there for the sake of diversity, and some great action sequences involving them. Women or should I say one woman is also represented in the cast. Haley Bennett plays Emma, the widow who hires the gang to save her town. She's the only one among the male-centric story, but she never becomes part of the boy's club. It would've been nice to see her take more of a leadership role, which she sort of does, but not with much confidence. Own it, girl!
Washington, Pratt and Hawke have the best chemistry, and play off each other in a very entertaining way. Watching Washington in a Western is epic, and he's pretty bad ass as he always is. Chris Pratt as usual provides the laughs and the fun. However, the other actors of color feel like sidekicks with little dialogue. Peter Sarsgaard once again plays a cartoonish villain as the murderous business man. Fuqua easily missed an opportunity to cast a woman as the antagonist.
Aside from my sensibilities as a minority, Antoine Fuqua's THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN is highly-entertaining and fun. The cast is likeable and enjoyable enough that you forgive some of the weaker moments. Neither the original American version or Fuqua's remake live up to the original 1954 film by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, SEVEN SAMURAI.
