“Seven” Not So “Magnificent”
So says Todd McCarthy: ‘The big difference between the new version of “The Magnificent Seven” and the revered 1960 feature is the ethnic background of the main characters. The titular seven in director Antoine Fuqua‘s take are a diverse bunch, while the ruthless villain of the piece is no longer a Mexican bandito but, instead, a cutthroat white capitalist. Other than the revisionist casting, however, nothing particularly original or fresh has been injected into this competently made, violent but uningratiating remake of the star-studded John Sturges Western, which itself was a redo of Akira Kurosawa’s imperishable 1954 classic, “Seven Samurai.”‘
