The Magnificent Seven (2016) Movie Review - Modern westerns have never been so.... western!

There's a common misconception that westerns are dead these days. While it's true that modern cinema has evolved beyond the classic "rootin tootin" simplistic western formula of the old days, and thus they won't be as frequent as they used to be, many western movies of this generation have managed to reinvent and revitalize the genre to keep it alive. Films like the True Grit remake, Unforgiven, and Django Unchained have become box office smash hits by taking a darker, more intense take on the genre. Now, the director of Training Day and The Equalizer has conjured up a remake of a remake, The Magnificent Seven, which combines the grittiness of today's modern westerns with the fun, energetic tropes of the classic westerns (including the Man with No Name trilogy) with surprisingly outstanding results.

The film starts off with an industrialist named Bartholomew Bogue, played by Peter Sarsgaard, invading a small town in an attempt to buy out their land. Once they refuse, he and his army run the people out of their homes, killing many people in the process. This is when a woman named Emma Cullen, played by Haley Bennett, seeks the help of a bounty hunter named Sam Chislom, played by Denzel Washington, who then rallies up a team of six other gunslingers to run Bogue and his men out of the town.

The film follows many of the classic western tropes; snarky lines, gun-slinging shootouts, stand-offs, you name it; while adding so much energy and charisma to the formula that it can't help but feel fresh. The actors all have great chemistry, the dialogue is riveting and often times hilarious (partially due to some strong, crisp delivery from the actors), and there's many beautiful landscape shots that add to the style. Alongside that, though, there's two shoot-em-up scenes in particular (one in the middle and an epic climactic battle towards the end) that are thrilling and impressively choreographed. This is exactly how I would want to see a modern western.

If there's one thing that keeps the film from reaching the heights of, say, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly or Once Upon a Time in the West, it would definitely be the pacing. Films like the aforementioned kept tension as well as style building by taking the time to breathe inbetween certain lines. This movie, on the other hand, feels very overcut and quick, as if the filmmakers needed to reduce a 2 1/2 hour movie to barely over two hours and spliced a lot of space between lines. On the flip side of that, though, I guess the aforementioned did what they did for dramatic purposes, and this was clearly going for a more fun and riveting action-based western.

On those merits, The Magnificent Seven is an awesome, well-constructed flick with very charismatic and riveting performances, thrilling action, and tons of energy to go around. If this ends up being the western that brings the genre back to the modern swing, I'll have at it! Highly recommended!