The Magnificent Seven (2016) - Why Seven?

★★☆☆☆

‘The Magnificent Seven’, a remake of 1954’s Japanese ‘Seven Samurai’ by the iconic Akira Kurosawa, is basically a story of revenge with no heartfelt emotions at all!

Sam (Danzel Washington) the bounty hunter is begged to avenge a woman’s husband’s death, and her townies’. Sam agrees! His reason for doing it is strong as revealed in the end. But he can’t do it alone because the wicked man he’s gonna take on is really wicked, so he recruits the other six to help. Though it says seven, it only centers on three, Sam himself, Faraday (Chris Pratt) and Goodnight (Ethan Hawke) because y’know they’re kinda big! The rest of four are just like cardboard figures that can be completely ignored. And the reason why they join up and fight is like child’s play! Put aside the straightforward carefree story, the shootouts are nothing exciting. Yet the funniest part is where some of these guys have to contribute heroic sacrifices as the highlight of the show. How unnecessary for a film that seems quite stupid already!

Is revenge sweet? Yes, only if you’re in a state of insanity. With sweetness like that comes a great deal of pain and sorrow whether you like it or not. Seeking revenge is an action driven by extreme wrath. It requires a very mad man to finish it. Sam is mad enough. I get that. But I don’t see why the other six would have to go that mad like him. The more you think about it, the more you dislike it. It’s quite of a letdown to know that this is actually the work of a director who has made decent action films before like ‘Training Day’, ‘The Equalizer’, ‘Southpaw’.

Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Seven Samurai’ is considered a classic by many. To surpass a classic is impossible because a classic is a classic. If it can be surpassed, it’s no classic! You can go for a reboot. It’s like giving your second marriage a try! But a remake? Avoid it, because there’s no way you can relive the sweetness of your first love!