“The rebirth of the CLASSIC AMERICAN WESTERN is upon us…and it’s a definite MUST SEE ON THE BIG SCREEN ~”
Kathy Kaiser – Matinee Chat
THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN – Rated PG-13 – 2 hours and 12 mins.
Starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Byung-hun Lee and Marin Sensmeier
From the man who brought us TRAINING DAY, THE EQUALIZER and OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN ~ Antoine Fuqua – comes the remake of John Sturges 1960’s Great Classic Western Film – only this time around, everyone seems to be a wee bit nicer as they say in the end…This is THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN!!!
Deciding to take the beautiful town of Rose Creek as his own, we meet the nasty and vindictive Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) and his band of very bad dudes too.
Ruling over these innocent townspeople with an iron fist, just to pass the time, Bogue underestimates the will of one of his townsfolk, Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) who he has made a widow, way before her time.
Mustering up the gumption to save herself, and the people of Rose Creek, Emma seeks out the services of Bounty Hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) to help with her endeavors. Giving Chisolm free rein to assemble who ever he needs to take Bogue out ~ he scurries up the likes of gambler and gun slinger Josh Faraday (Chris Pratt), sharp shooter Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke) and his good friend Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee) along with trapper extraordinaire Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), Mexican bad guy Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and Comanche Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier) to aid in taking back the town for these good folk…
With everyone in place ~ and the townspeople coming to aid all of them in this quest too ~ will Bogue’s army of men find a way to take over these ungrateful farmers, and their town, once and for all…or can THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN fight there way through to help save it, until the bitter end???
I give THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN a rating of MUST SEE ON THE BIG SCREEN ~ Okay, now we know going in that there is probably no way that these actors ~ regardless of who they are, including the incredible Denzel ~ are really going to be able to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Brynner, McQueen, and Bronson in the 1960 original film. But, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I did enjoy Washington, Pratt, Hawke, even D’Onofrio, in their respective roles this time around, trying to save these people they don’t even know, and their town. I also loved the “old western feel” of this entire film, from the cinematography and epic scenery of the landscapes, to the fact that lots of people are dying, but there is no blood in sight (always one of my faves – no guts and gore is always a good thing to me;), even the way these guys play their roles, its as if your watching a western from the 50’s or 60’s the entire time… Bringing me to share that for me, this MAGNIFICENT SEVEN REMAKE is one of the best remakes this year, as it absolutely brings the CLASSIC AMERICAN WESTERN back to the BIG SCREEN with a vengeance! You definitely don’t want to miss catching this film on the BIG SCREEN, at a theater near you this weekend!!
Kathy Kaiser
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 