There was no love lost for the movie Magnificent Seven. To punt a pun: it was magnificent.

Many of the features that you would expect with a (slightly modernized) rendition of the Old West came in surplus: the cowboy saunter of Denzel, an almost palpable musk from Pratt whilst in the saloon, rolling horse-driven fields and prairies to make up the scene.. It has it all, right down to the spurs and cowboy hats.

All of these elements brought together made for a continually elegant scene, and the camera work was as crisp as could be to benefit from it. This was met however, with a recurring theme of unnecessary close-ups to to our heroes, pulling away from the detail invested into the setting, though somewhat offset by the wide-angle shots of landscape.

Each character represented an untold story that only hints were provided for, leaving much to be desired in terms of understanding the starring septet. While this gives an air of mysterious equality amongst the men, it also begs the question of how well utilized the two hours and thirty minutes could be considered when no history is evident beyond a subtle mention here or offhand reference there.

Although there were some minor defects that could be expected from any film, it goes to show that “perfect” is not far from “magnificent”, and I would even say it twice to describe the Magnificent Seven.