When you’re discussing The Magnificent Seven you’re discussing some serious pedigree. The movies it is based on are two of the greatest of the genres (samurai and western) so remaking it is a daunting task. I thought that with Antoine Fuqua directing they might be able to do it, but this first trailer has me worried.
Yes, the plot is basically a group of folks protecting down a town, but what makes both Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven so great is that it’s also about the men themselves. In fact it’s more about them than the actual show down, which is what makes the show down work so well in those films. This trailer looks far more like an action western about a big shootout than the classic western it could be.
Now, it’s very possible that that is all down to marketing. Action gets butts in the seats and Fuqua is really good an combining standard action cliches and more in depth character development. I’ve still got faith, but that twisting, slow-mo shotgun blast in the trailer is chipping away at it a bit.
