The Magnificent Seven is the second remake of a cinema classic to be released in Malta after Ben Hur. The film is a remake of John Sturges’ beloved 1960 Western, itself based on the 1954 Japanese epic The Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa. The story tells of the eponymous seven, a gang of mercenaries hired by Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) and the townsfolk of Rose Creek for protection from powerful industrialist Bartholo-mew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard).
Director Antoine Fuqua has brought together a strong ensemble cast to bring his vision of the classic tale to the screen. Led by Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington), the mercenaries consist of Josh Faraday (Chris Pratt), Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), Jack Horne (Vincent D’Ono-frio), Billy Rocks (Byung-Hun Lee), Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier).
Washington’s character, Chisolm, is one of the few members of the seven who operate within the confines of law enforcement. Moreover, elaborates the actor: “he’s a black man in the frontier, in a position of authority, so he needs to let people know he has authority from the government to do this job. He’s a loner; he’s unafraid. He’s a master with his weapon but he’s not a braggart; he’s a lonely, honourable, courageous man, not especially used to dealing with people.”
Chris Pratt is Faraday, Chisolm’s right-hand man. He is described as a light-hearted man who gambles, drinks, smoke and loves the ladies – but he is also very deadly. “He keeps his head cool, even in the most dangerous situations,” says Pratt. “He’s tranquillo – he moves slow, slow is smooth and smooth is fast. He is efficient in killing because he keeps a cool head.”
Hawke’s sharpshooter Goodnight Robicheaux is a lost soul, possibly traumatised after the events of the American Civil War. “I like to think of Goodnight as somebody who’s haunted by those demons,” muses Hawke. “He’s lost and this whole cause gives him a place to be.” As for his relationship with Washington’s character, Hawke says that Robich-eaux has a tremendous amount of respect for Chisolm. “He feels a sense of duty to honour that friendship, like maybe there’s something in the past which he owes this person.”
The director did everything he could to ensure that Native Americans were portrayed in a respectful way
Jack Horne is played by Vincent D’Onofrio. Horne is a mountain man who has survived on his own in the wilderness and proves to be as tough as they come – utilising any manner of weapon at hand in the fight to save the town, characteristics that led to a lot of physical work for the actor.
The ensemble has quite an international twist to it. Fuqua was thrilled to cast Korean star Byung-Hun Lee as Billy Rocks, Goodnight’s friend and confidant. “I was a fan of his when he did a film called A Bittersweet Life. So when he walked into my office before we cast him, I didn’t realise it was the same guy – and when he said he’d done that movie, I got really excited.”
Mexican-born actor Manuel Garcia-Rulfo plays Vasquez, an outlaw who has been on the run for several months because of a crime he committed. “All his life, he’s been a bandit and a robber,” Garcia-Rulfo explains, “but this time he has committed a high crime, killing an important person. Chisolm, the bounty hunter, knows all about him and brings Emma along to help recruit him.”
Rounding up the magnificent septet is Red Harvest, a Comanche Indian who joins the pack. The role is played by Martin Sensmeier, an actor of Koyukon-Athabascan and Tlingit Indian descent.
“Antoine was very sensitive to the culture and wanted to do it right,” says Sensmeier. “As a native person, I think that’s really important. He did everything he could to ensure that native Americans were portrayed in a respectful way. He did his homework and had a vision of what he wanted.”
It’s a varied ensemble of actors and characters. Hawke explains that each member of the gang is there for a different reason.
“One person’s there because he had a dream. One person’s there because he lost his family. One person’s there for a friend. One person’s there because he has a secret he’s not telling. One person’s there just because he didn’t know what else to do. None of them are there for ethical reasons, but they accidentally find themselves doing the right thing, and it feels good and that propels them,” he explains.
Fuqua reiterates that. “I asked myself, ‘Why make a Western now? Why would it be important?’ And the answer was, the idea of tyranny, happening in our world today – that’s what made it timely. You’d need a special group of people to come together to fight tyranny.”
Those special people are The Magnificent Seven.