Tired of the recent drought in quality films coming to the theaters? I was too, until I saw The Magnificent Seven.

The Magnificent Seven is a modern take on the original movie, made in 1960. The plot follows the same format, where a group of seven gunslingers protect a town from a villainous businessman.

The movie definitely meets the typical Western standard of cowboys, gunfights, and damsels in distress. With Denzel Washington as the main protagonist, followed by Chris Pratt and other notable actors, the cast certainly keeps the viewer interested.

Witty and smart, this action flick makes the audience think and feel more than the standard shoot-em-up fare. One of the often used points throughout the movie is that Denzel Washington’s character is black and free, which is quite a sight in the wild west. In a Django-esque scene, Washington’s character Sam Chisolm walks into a saloon looking for a quiet drink when he notices that the bartender is wanted. In a dazzling show of marksmanship Chisolm proceeds to incapacitate or kill the wanted bartender and everyone else in the bar, except Pratt’s character, Joshua Faraday, a quick shooting and quick swindling scoundrel. Chisolm recruits Faraday and so starts the merry band.
As a fan of the Western classics of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, I can safely say this movie can live up to its 60’s origins. The fast paced, high strung action and emotional plot engages the audience from start to finish, and identifies the Magnificent Seven as one of the best Westerns of the past decade.