The Magnificent Seven (2016) / YMMV

Alternate Character Interpretation: On Goodnight: Could Goodnight's lingering trauma from fighting in the Civil War stem not only from being a soldier, but being a Confederate soldier? Could his difficulty with killing come at least in part from a disillusionment in the cause he'd fought for and all of the good Union men he killed? Supporting this interpretation is the fact that he's close friends with Chisolm, a black man who fought for the Union, whilst his most antagonistic relationship is with Faraday, who refers to it as the "War of Northern Aggression."
- The fact that he's such good friends with Chisholm does suggest he either came to realise that the Confederacy was wrong to fight to preserve slavery, or he never really supported slavery but fought for the south because My Country, Right or Wrong. The fact he continues to wear Confederate grey and lets out a rebel yell when he return to help defend the town suggests he's not completely ashamed of everything he fought for
Aluminum Christmas Trees: The multiracial team is in some ways closer to the reality of the old West, where black and Mexican cowboys were very commonplace, than the predominantly white image popularized in older Westerns. Additionally, Chinese immigrants were present throughout the American West so it wouldn't be impossible for someone like Billy to join the Magnificent Seven.
Awesome Music: This film provides the final work of James Horner and though it wasn't his time, he certainly went out with a terrific score, one that manages to be both contemporary but faithful to the Westerns of old. Plus the film's rendition of the classic theme is pretty damn good.
Cliché Storm: Even those with a positive opinion on the film can admit that it doesn't reinvent the wheel when it comes to either the original films of the genre, but some really don't mind it.
Complete Monster: Bartholomew Bogue is a ruthless, amoral industrialist who, seeking to add even more wealth to his criminal empire, takes over the mining town of Rose Creek, murdering the citizens willing to stand up to him. After the titular Seven liberate the town from Bogue's goons and dispatch the dirty sheriff to tell him about it, Bogue, after shooting the sheriff dead, returns in force, sending his mercenary army to destroy the resistance. When the heroes start winning, he has Rose Creek shot up with a Gatling gun, willingly mowing down his own men for a chance to win. Even when alone and on the verge of defeat he remains vile, never straying from his ideology that the weak are to be dominated by the strong.
Crazy Is Cool: Jack Horne, best shown during the combat scenes, where he spends most of his time getting in his adversaries' faces, stabbing them over and over and over again while screaming praises to the Lord at the top of his lungs.
Critical Dissonance: Professional critics were somewhat split on the film, finding it a bit too traditional in terms of what has been done in the Western genre and finding it to be a well made but unnecessary remake. Audiences, on the other hand, have been significantly more enthusiastic, with high ratings on Rotten Tomatoes (as user score in the high 70's and counting), a solid A- on Cinemascore and opening up at number 1 at the box office.
Draco in Leather Pants: Vasquez. Then again, it's easy for people to forget he's supposed to be an outlaw, because he's a Satellite Character with an Informed Flaw, so people paint him as an ideal romantic lead in fan fiction.
Ensemble Dark Horse: The devout Christian tracker Jack Horne and Billy Rocks are standouts in an already quirky and interesting cast.
Genius Bonus:
- Denali is wearing part of a U.S. Cavalry uniform, giving Red Harvest a very good reason to hate him and single him out in the final battle beyond them simply being on opposite sides.
- In a similar vein, Vasquez is wanted for the murder of a ranger. The Texas Rangers were notoriously brutal to Mexicans in the latter half of the 19th century, so Vasquez's claim that the ranger had it coming isn't totally farfetched.
Germans Love David Hasselhoff: This movie is largely loved in Japan, so much that Japanese moviegoers' interest towards Denzel Washington's Fences had risen just for the fact that he directed that film (the latter eventually got a release in iTunes).
Ho Yay:
- Goodnight and Billy might as well declare themselves out of the closet. Billy even dies reaching for Goodnight's flask and saying "Oh Goody." Ho Yay Shipping ensues on Tumblr. Allegedly, the Ambiguously Gay aspects of their relationship were even less ambiguous in early drafts of the script, with Goodnight describing Billy's half of their partnership as "he gives me comfort" as opposed to "keeps me on the level."
- Vasquez and Faraday are also popular, mostly because of how much they seem to snark at each other.
It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: Some lines from the 1960 movie are used in the 2016 movie when they could have been more original. For instance, Bogue borrowing a line from Calvera.
Like You Would Really Do It: Actually, they do. Josh Faraday, played by Chris Pratt, does indeed die in the film when trying to stop the Gatling Gun destroying the town. However, at least the guy is given one hell of a send off before he bites it.
Moral Event Horizon: Bogue crosses it at the beginning when he kills Matthew and several others for opposing him followed by him burning down the church. Before the events of the movie, he had already crossed it when it was revealed that years ago, he had his men rape and kill Chisolm's mother and sisters.
Narm Charm: Vincent D'Onofrio plays Jack Horne as though Andy Devine were an action hero. Kind of silly, but also kind of cool.
Nightmare Fuel: Goodnight refers to the Gatling Gun as "The Devil's Breath". We're immediately shown that he's not freaking kidding when the Gatling opens up on the town, turning everything above ground into a meatgrinder of flying bullets and splintered wood.
She Really Can Act: Haley Bennett as Emma Cullen.
They Changed It, Now It Sucks!:
- Some fans were disappointed with the replacement of the original monologue from Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven (1960) with Cullen's talking about how magnificent the seven were, some going so far as to say it ruined the entire movie.
- Others were dismayed that there wasn't any Kikuchiyo or Chico counterpart to make the ensemble more interesting.
- Not having the part from the original where the seven are given the chance to leave but come back anyway — and Calvera's iconic "You came back? Why?" — has gotten some criticism too.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
- Vasquez and Red Harvest are probably the most under-developed characters in the entire cast, yet they have the potential to be great characters in their own right. They're the only ones beside Chislom to survive the film. The worst part is: One of the Deleted Scenes actually does develop Vasquez a little, giving him a nice moment where he lays out for a kid the value of a father and the responsibility he bears... and how he, badass as he may be, would never have that kind of courage. (This scene, of course, clarifies he's this film's counterpart to the original's O'Reilly, the Charles Bronson character.)
- After build up in the first act and the Seven are assembled, not much is done with Emma Cullen. The potential was there to explore her character and relationships with the Seven and Sam Chisolm in particular but nothing is really done outside of having her take part in the final battle and being the one who kills Bogue.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Ok, so you have Jack Horne, a badass legendary Indian hunter and Red Harvest, a badass Noble Savage Comanche warrior, and... nothing happens. They actually seem to hit it off pretty well, and Red Harvest even avenges Jack's death. It probably helps that Horne doesn't seem the type to go after someone who doesn't have it coming ten times over. It's heavily implied that Horne didn't hate Amerind people, but specifically hated the Crow Tribe (He's known as 'Crow Killer'), who were a US-Government affiliated tribe. The same reason why he had a bounty was because he killed members of that tribe. The Crow were also famous for using their favor with the Government to murder members of rival tribes, and as someone noted in WMG it could very well be that he started killing them for murdering his wife and child, who were likely Amerind themselves.

YMMV / The Magnificent Seven (2016)

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