The Magnificent Seven * * *

Are you even listening to me!

Like most reboots The Magnificent 7 is not really necessary.

Funny thing about a lot of “Artists” today: they seem to take more pride in recreating something that already exists than they do in creating something entirely new.

But each generation is entitled to their own version of a popular story I suppose.

You don’t have to be much of a film buff to know that the original was The Seven Samurai a Japanese film from the 1950’s which is regarded a classic and you're not supposed say anything bad about it.

Then in the 1960’s, taking a lead from Seven Samurai they made the first Magnificent 7 and turned ninjas into cowboys. That film is highly regarded and famous (as much for it’s “cigarette” theme music as anything else). Personally I’ve seen both and find them okay but I couldn't gush on about them the way some critics do. And I certainly don't think it's worthy of a re-make. But obviously director Antoine Fuqua does..

Made up of gunslingers, gamblers, hustlers and outsiders, The Magnificent 7 are hired to protect a village from a ruthless miner and his private army who have enslaved the townsmen to work in the mine and have stolen nearly everything from the people of the town.  I must say the population of the town far exceeds the number of buildings.  I don’t know where they all sleep at night but otherwise it’s a good looking set - and one that is up for some rough treatment later in the film.

The first half is made up of the recruitment of the 7 by the leader (Denzel Washington).  He’s a sharp shooting bounty hunter and we meet him in a scene that is remarkably similar to a scene from Tarantino’s Django Unchained.  

It doesn’t take too much persuasion to get the 7 to take on the assignment.  Just a bag full of money and a pretty girl with constantly exposed gorgeous shoulders.

They’re a politically correct bunch as far as ethnicity and diversity is concerned.  We got a black leader, a Mexican, a philosophical native Cherokee, an Asian, a guy with mental health problems, and a token girl as the unacknowledged 8th member (she with the shoulders).

The “Baddies” are very bad and led by the redoubtable Peter Sarsgaard.  (I’m sure there will be some genius out there who’ll tell us that they are representatiive of the corporate greed and exploitation of a modern mining company).

The second half is just the baddies determined to get the town back by throwing everything at it whilst the Magnificent 7 and townsfolk throw everything back until there really isn't much town worth saving.  If you're into guns and explosions you’ll enjoy this,  (They always say "no animals were hurt in the making of this film" and I’ll just have to believe them. But the poor horses looked a bit thrown around to me.)

It’s okay, but to be honest I don’t know why they bothered making it. Perhaps they assume anything born before them can no longer be valid.