Original vs. Remake: The Magnificent Seven

Remakes are all the rage in Hollywood right now. (In fact, I'm starting to wonder if the people in there have run out of original ideas? Do you know many movies recently that aren't remakes or based off books? Not that the last is a bad thing.) Anyway, I thought, Why not start a series comparing the old version to the new one? I don't know how often I'll do this, but it should be fun.

For my first comparison, I picked The Magnificent Seven, a western originally made in 1960, starring Yul Brenner and Steve McQueen. Fun fact: It's actually based off of a Japanese film called The Seven Samurai. It was remade in 2016, this time with Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt in starring roles. I've seen both, so now it's time to compare. Spoilers ahead for both movies.

Also, I totally forgot to post on Saturday. *face palms* The problems with trying a new schedule. So this week you'll have four posts so I can keep up.

Plot

Original- A gunman is asked by three Mexican men to help defend their town from a man who keeps stealing from them. He rounds up six men and they head out to the town. After a series of fights, they defeat the bad guy, but not after loosing over half their number.

For a western, action sequences take up less than half of the two hour length. But that's because they work hard at building tension, growing characters, and really setting up the stakes. That all pays off in a super tense climax.

Remake- A rich industrialist, Bogue, takes over a small town. A woman named Emma Cullen and a man named Teddy Q set off to find someone to help them. They find a bounty hunter who agrees to help them. He rounds up a group of six men and heads out. They get rid of the men in the town, but Bogue comes back with many more men and they have to defend the town. The battle takes many of their number, but they prevail in the end.

This movie is much more action centered, and takes less time to show stakes and build tension. Despite the fact they're about the same length, this one had at least half the time taken up by action. It got a little boring by the time the climax came around. There was also a lot more explosions and some advanced technology, none of which was in the original.

Characters

Original- There are obviously seven main characters in the film. In the original, they're mostly white, but that's not the point. Despite having all these characters, they took time to develop them and make you become invested in each of them. I understood each character in the film as well as had an idea at their backstories. I loved how the writers made them these wandering souls with no homes and no families, hardened to the world. But that doesn't mean they like it.

The bad guy was well done as well. He steals from the town because he can't afford to feed his men and the farmers, up to this point, haven't fought back. I thought he was evil and relatable villain. The rest of the characters were pretty forgettable, but I did like them.

Remake- To be honest, I didn't really care much about any of the characters in the remake. My two favorites were Faraday and Billy. Although the cast is more diverse, they're also a little more unrealistic. As much as I like Denzel Washington, there's no way a black man could be a law martial in that era. They brought their back stories in really late in the plot, I guess so you could feel sorry for them when they died, but it didn't work. Also, most of them were introduced by killing people violently.

The villain in this one was just weird. He was creepy without a good reason. He just was. Then there was Emma. Don't even get me started on her. She was so not dressed for the time period, and was another one of those Strong Female Characters™ we were talking about.

Setting

Original- It's set in Mexico, I think over the border from Texas. Most of the story takes place in a small farming town. I liked it because it felt realistic. These are farmers, so of course they don't know how to use guns or fight. That's why they needed gunmen to help them. They used the setting well too, especially in the fight scenes.

Remake- The remake of the film was set in a Wild West town out in the middle of the prairie. The town was fine, but the townspeople. . . not so much. As my dad and I were discussing, these would have been ex-Civil War soldiers. Why couldn't they defend their own town or know how to use a gun? They would have had to do the second at least to make it all that way west. It crushed the suspension of disbelief for anyone who has a bit of knowledge about the Wild West.

Other

Original- Fighting: I liked a lot of the action and fighting in this one. They only killed if necessary, and they didn't always shoot to kill. While their revolvers still fired way more shots than they actually had, it still felt real.

Humor: There was actually quite a bit of humor in this movie. Especially between Yul and Steve's characters, who only meet at the beginning of the film and hit off instantly. The team was always making little jokes, to make up for the seriousness of the situation, like they do in Avengers.

Remake- Fighting: There was a lot more explosions in the new one, very untypical of a Western. I have to admit, there was some cool stuff in the fighting though. Billy could throw knives like nobody's business and there was a Native American who could shoot really well.

Humor: They kept some of the same jokes between the films, as a throwback for those who have seen the old film. I found it a lot more serious than the old one, but they still strive for a lighthearted tone. Faraday's character (since it is Chris Pratt) was the funniest. So of course he died.

Which is better?

The old movie is the better of the two. It works better, feels more realistic, and made me enjoy the characters more. Not to say that the new one isn't a fun movie, because I did enjoy it as well.

I hope you enjoyed this look at the two films. I've got some more ideas for the future and if you have any you think I should compare, tell me in the comments.

Let's talk! Do you like Western movies? Have you watched either version of The Magnificent Seven? Less action and more tension building or less tension and more action?