Seven against an army. Denzel Washington, leads a misfit gang of hired guns including Chris Pratt and Ethan Hawke to rush in and protect a town from the greasy, greedy bad man who threatens, steals from, and kills some of the poor, sweet, good-looking settlers. So when Denzel takes his “dually appointed Marshall” badge and secret revenge in to take out the tan trench-coated baddies with six-shooters, it’s High Noon meets Three Amigos.
Besides the group goal to go out guns blazing, the town prepares for war building giant spike gates and booby traps. Even so, without the Seven the town would have collapsed against the Gatling.
Despite the dry and often delayed line pacing, the scenes work and the dialogue doesn’t get old. It didn’t feel overly Pratted with his one-liners. It has its Good, Bad, & Ugly tribute stares and lovely cinematography, and the actors give the sense that they had a blast making the film.
Newish actress Haley Bennett made the film more believable by riding out in tears and fighting in tears. She didn’t play the triumphant heroine, or the oppressed female. She showed an honest side to gun-slinging and territory claiming. She bootstrapped and got to work letting the battle begin, come what may.
So much killing was to be expected, but if they’d decided to go beyond the pg-13 rating, it would have been a bloodbath. How do we care for one specific life on the screen when so many are expendable? Surplus cowboys didn’t make the number of deaths easier to palate.
Overall, it’s probably a 7 / 10. Fun and playful, but disturbing if you stop to consider body count, even in the Wild West.
Splatter: on FILM 