Mostly magnificent

It’s likely that when Antoine Fuqua’s remake of the classic western, The Magnificent Seven, hits theaters this weekend, media chatter will focus largely on the diversity of the cast. A kind of rainbow coalition of gunslingers, the group includes Sam Chisolm, a black bounty hunter (Denzel Washington, who supplants Yule Brynner’s Cajun), an exiled Comanche, an on-the-run Mexican, and a knife-throwing Korean. Already, early reviews like The Hollywood Reporter’s are saying, “it would seem that ethnic variety was the guiding principle.”

But it misses the point of Fuqua’s slick, action-packed update to dismiss it as so much political correctness. For once, casting changes made in service of “inclusiveness” actually turn out to be inclusive. And Fuqua’s subtle challenge to today’s social strife turns an otherwise solid genre pic into something more affecting.

Lest anyone forget, Jim Sturgess’ remake of Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece, released as the Jim Crow era was nearing its bitter end, had its own say on current events. In the opening scene Brynner and his sidekick Steve McQueen establish their heroism by making sure a dead Native American gets a proper burial despite the protest of some local white cowboys. It was the right point for the right time. And so is Fuqua’s.

Here, a shaky, haunted ex-Confederate soldier rides under the leadership of a man he once fought to oppress. “Why do you waste your time on a piece of rebel trash like me?” the beautifully named Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke) asks Sam. Embracing him, Sam answers, “What we lost in the fire, we’ll find in the ashes.” This marks quite a departure from other recent revisionist movies like Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained that function as revenge fantasies. Fuqua instead offers a reconciliation fantasy.

Vincent D’Onofrio’s phenomenal performance as wooly Bible-quoting frontiersman Jack Horne includes an admission that he’s taken a number of Indian scalps. You could hardly be faulted for assuming that must mean he’s yet another ugly Christian stereotype in a mainstream movie. But you’d be wrong. Jack’s personal mission to use his God-given, bear-like strength to protect the weak makes him easily the most loveable character in the lineup. All the more so when we see him fighting alongside a Native American, Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier), for principles they both share.

One revision fails to fire. Fuqua’s villain, would-be robber baron Bartholomew Bogue, played with mustache-twirling melodrama by Peter Saarsgaard, comes nowhere close to Eli Wallach’s bandito. Some conservatives might take offense at Bogue’s over-the-top speeches equating God’s will with business success. But to be fair, that has been a point of idolatry in the United States, and given the news of late, it’s hard to argue that crony capitalists with politicians on their payroll don’t pose a threat to the small farmer, rancher, teacher, and others trying to scratch out a living in the world.

On the flip side, Bogue shows his worst colors by desecrating a church and making a mockery of the townspeople’s faith. It’s nothing particularly deep, but a certain appreciation for Christianity is present and seems to speak to Fuqua’s fair intentions. Or maybe we’re just seeing the influence of professing believer Denzel Washington.

Mostly Bogue’s character is tedious because he leads to the unnecessary backstory that every modern film seems to feel its hero must have with its villain. Yul Brynner didn’t need one. Neither did the samurai. And Washington doesn’t need one either. It ends up turning the final showdown into something far too soapy and strikes a discordant tone in an otherwise timeless men-of-honor tale.

Beyond that, however, this is simply a good, popcorn-crunching time at the movies. As one would expect from a PG-13 western, it has a healthy amount of shoot-em-up violence and a smattering of profanity, but it’s not as gratuitous as other similar films. For all the surface anachronisms, including Chris Pratt’s boyish antics and the now requisite girl-with-a-gun, the vital ingredients are still present: men with quick draws and steely gazes doing their dusty duty to enforce justice. They may look a little different from your dad’s seven, but they’re still mostly magnificent.