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Customer Reviews of Guns of the Magnificent Seven

Without Bryner, McQueen, and Sturges--Who'd Have Thought?
After the very disappointing sequel to The Magnificent Seven, called Return of . . . , I kind of hoped they were going to end the series. With McQueen, Sturges, and the original screenwriters gone, the film just didn't work. The film was sadly filled with one western cliche after another and annoying platitudes. Then Guns of the Magnificent Seven comes out and I reluctantly go see it with a friend. I loved this film! Ten minutes into the movie and you stop worrying about how little George Kennedy resembles Yul Bryner. He fills the role of Chris as though he'd created him. Witness a great scene where Kennedy first meets Monte Markham's character, Keno, and in fact ends up saving him from being hanged as a horse thief using a humorously ingenious ploy. Since both Keno and one of his pursuers claim to be the horse's owner, they must come up with a way to prove it one way or another. Kennedy says drolly (pointing his cigar) "let's ask the horse." What follows is quite humorous and serves to introduce Seven fans to the easy chemistry between Kennedy and Markham from the get-go. Markham is one of those guys who was always good in films but never caught on like say, McQueen or Coburn, even though he bears a slight resemblance and demeanor to both. He even has that uncanny ability to deliver very short lines of dialog with either humor or poignancy. <
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>Anyway, the script is quite good and each member of the Seven is richly drawn, albeit quickly, through striking visual introductions and terse, natural dialog. You get an explosives expert, a one-armed Confederate sharp-shooter, a family man forced to join to support his family (the always excellent James Whitmore), a horse thief and presumed outlaw, a tuberculor gunfighter, an again one of the villagers who's ready to take up the fight. <
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>The action sequences have all the muscle and athleticism that made the original so good. The fighters are not just shooting at each other--they're diving for cover, running and jumping across roofs, and almost always in motion--much the way Sturges filmed his actors. The scenes where some of the Seven are killed are painful to watch, but filled with heroism. And, of course, there's Elmer Bernstein's music, which practically lifts you out of your seat it's so exciting. The script offers some nice quiet moments too, where the cowboys reminisce about the changing west. One of the best written scenes is where Kennedy dismisses a potential ally with a bandit (poor man's Eli Wallach). Reclining in the Seven's encampment, Kennedy doesn't even turn to face the mercenary and says something to the effect, "I'll let you know if we need you." <
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>For true lovers of the Seven, this and the original are the only ones I'd recommend. Really good entertainment. <
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Homage to the spirit of the Magnificent Seven
GUNS OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN plays like homage to the spirit of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. RETURN OF THE SEVEN digressed into peripheral territory still within the scope of the essence of what THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN encompassed. In a somewhat Freudian approach it explored some of the microcosmic elements embodied within its characters. GUNS OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN returns to a more direct and straightforward story of good against evil. The strong must stand up for the weak in true heroic and American Western style. The canvas is wide open and Elmer Bernstein's impressive score full of bravado is unleashed in a refreshing manner that makes you want to stand up and cheer as the seven take on those that would subjugate humanity for the darkest of evils. <
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A lesson in quit while you're ahead
I love Westerns because I love the scenery and the music but Guns of the Magnificent Seven is really pushing my tolerance level. The acting is bad. Good actors. Nothing wrong with George Kennedy or James Whitmore. But the lines they were given and the direction was bad. Hang the writers and director. Go ahead and hang the producer too. The photography is good. Rent this movie but don't buy it. <
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