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Review: The Magnificent Seven (1960)
This movie was ok. I didn't pay too much attention but it didn't lean too hard into tropes that made me roll my eyes which is unfortunately a commonality among older films. So I'd say this was an ok adventure film.
Spoilers.
Story
The story was about seven gunmen protecting a village that was constantly being looted by Calvery. The group of seven was a ragtag group of guys with varying levels of gunmanship and bravery.
There were moments of wavering in which the gunmen weren't sure if they wanted to stay and protect the farmers, because it was a small fry operation. There was a bit of struggle between the farmers and gunmen because some of the farmers were wary of the gunmen, going so far as to get the women in the village to hide.
There was even a small romantic story line but fortunately I think it wasn't too bad. I think what helped it was that the romantic story line happened to Chico, a side character, as opposed to the main characters who were portrayed as rough and cold. Chico on the other hand was hotheaded and thus him falling in love made more sense as opposed to someone like Chris or even Vin who always struggled to stay in any one spot.
In the end, the seven fought off Calvera, though four of the gunmen died (Harry, Bernardo, Lee, and Britt). Chris, Vin, and Chico were going to leave the village but Chico finally decided to stay, wanting to be with Petra, the woman he fell in love with.
Production
The production was good enough. I don't know enough about this time period or this setting to point out if anything was off. The acting was alright too, nothing too offputting.
Characters
Our main characters were Chris, Vin, Chico, Bernardo, Lee, Harry, and Britt.
Chris and Vin were probably the main characters. We started the movie with them insisting on having a man buried at the closest graveyard. The problem was that the man was a Native American and the racist White folks didn't want that. But Chris and Vin strong armed their way in.
To be honest, the names were not used a lot during the movie so I had a hard time remembering who was who. I do remember Harry as the guy who was looking for treasure. Bernardo was an Irish-Mexican who struck up a friendship with the boys of the town. Lee was the well-dressed one who I think was having some sort of crisis of mentality. Britt was the sharpshooter. And Chico was the hotheaded and proud kid who felt humiliated when Chris made him show his speed when he first wanted to join.
None of the characters leaned too far into the stereotypes which was maybe why I didn't feel too peeved with these heroic characters. Chris and Vin were the mysterious heroes, and the story stuck to that, not forcing them into story lines that would not have suited their personalities. They didn't settle down like Chico did because they had spent this long detached and they knew it was a sad life but it was hard for them to begin then.
Themes
I thought it was interesting how the movie sought to emphasize that the farmers were just as brave as the gunmen were, because of what they had to protect. I think the gunmen, because they were lonely, envied the farmers for having a home to protect, and that was why they cared so much to protect them. When the children said they were ashamed of their fathers, Bernardo go angry precisely because he felt their fathers were very brave for standing up for their families. And I think the guys low key wanted Chico to stay with Petra because they knew how valuable it was to have someone you wanted to stay for.
Overall
An ok movie. Not what I expected it to be. A decent time.
Spoilers.
Story
The story was about seven gunmen protecting a village that was constantly being looted by Calvery. The group of seven was a ragtag group of guys with varying levels of gunmanship and bravery.
There were moments of wavering in which the gunmen weren't sure if they wanted to stay and protect the farmers, because it was a small fry operation. There was a bit of struggle between the farmers and gunmen because some of the farmers were wary of the gunmen, going so far as to get the women in the village to hide.
There was even a small romantic story line but fortunately I think it wasn't too bad. I think what helped it was that the romantic story line happened to Chico, a side character, as opposed to the main characters who were portrayed as rough and cold. Chico on the other hand was hotheaded and thus him falling in love made more sense as opposed to someone like Chris or even Vin who always struggled to stay in any one spot.
In the end, the seven fought off Calvera, though four of the gunmen died (Harry, Bernardo, Lee, and Britt). Chris, Vin, and Chico were going to leave the village but Chico finally decided to stay, wanting to be with Petra, the woman he fell in love with.
Production
The production was good enough. I don't know enough about this time period or this setting to point out if anything was off. The acting was alright too, nothing too offputting.
Characters
Our main characters were Chris, Vin, Chico, Bernardo, Lee, Harry, and Britt.
Chris and Vin were probably the main characters. We started the movie with them insisting on having a man buried at the closest graveyard. The problem was that the man was a Native American and the racist White folks didn't want that. But Chris and Vin strong armed their way in.
To be honest, the names were not used a lot during the movie so I had a hard time remembering who was who. I do remember Harry as the guy who was looking for treasure. Bernardo was an Irish-Mexican who struck up a friendship with the boys of the town. Lee was the well-dressed one who I think was having some sort of crisis of mentality. Britt was the sharpshooter. And Chico was the hotheaded and proud kid who felt humiliated when Chris made him show his speed when he first wanted to join.
None of the characters leaned too far into the stereotypes which was maybe why I didn't feel too peeved with these heroic characters. Chris and Vin were the mysterious heroes, and the story stuck to that, not forcing them into story lines that would not have suited their personalities. They didn't settle down like Chico did because they had spent this long detached and they knew it was a sad life but it was hard for them to begin then.
Themes
I thought it was interesting how the movie sought to emphasize that the farmers were just as brave as the gunmen were, because of what they had to protect. I think the gunmen, because they were lonely, envied the farmers for having a home to protect, and that was why they cared so much to protect them. When the children said they were ashamed of their fathers, Bernardo go angry precisely because he felt their fathers were very brave for standing up for their families. And I think the guys low key wanted Chico to stay with Petra because they knew how valuable it was to have someone you wanted to stay for.
Overall
An ok movie. Not what I expected it to be. A decent time.