First, the Recap:
When odds are stacked against you and it looks like there’s no true hope for justice, courage can fail and the future appears to have no light to dispel the dark tidings which loom large in mind and heart. For the citizens of Rose Creek, this is certainly the current reality, as the wealthy, arrogant, and ruthless land baron Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) rules the quaint town with an iron fist. However, one young woman, Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett), reeling from a sudden and tragic loss, seeks out the aid of bounty hunter/lawman Chisholm (Denzel Washington) to battle Bogue and bring release to the town. Recruiting a motley but lethal band of outlaws, gamblers, and hired guns–Josh Faraday (Chris Pratt), Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee),Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier)–Chisholm brings Western justice to bear.
Worth Seeing: YES
Presenting his love for total, absolute, intense action while also tempering some of the chaos with humor and just plain coolness, prolific director Antoine Fuqua delivers a fantastically entertaining, old-fashioned Western sure to please anyone who enjoys their period piece romps coupled with a serious, pure shot of adrenaline infused into the proceedings. While it is true, despite it’s 133-minute runtime, that some level of deeper character development and backstories are sacrificed for the sake of the epic action sequences and witty banter exchanged among The Seven–who cares?? Folks, this is simply a whole ton of fun!
Washington, a Fuqua staple, always excels with characters like this and here is no exception. But what also brings this adventure to such excellence is when you have a supporting cast that includes the aforementioned names above! Add appearances by Luke Grimes and Matt Bomer, plus a superb, apropos soundtrack and gorgeously shot frontier cinematography–saddle up, people, it’s time to ride!!
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
