The Magnificent Seven Review: 5 Ups And 5 Downs

3. The Opening Starts Things Off Terribly

There’s a whole host of ways you could open The Magnificent Seven. A montage showing each of the gang on their own exploits, neatly setting up their personalities in mere minutes. Or how about Denzel Washington on a mission to make clear he’s the lead (oddly enough, he’s not as prominent as his position in the marketing would suggest)? Perhaps a tense showdown where you don’t realise you’re meeting two of the key characters at once? Heck, I’d settle for an in media res slow-mo shot of the seven riding against the setting sun before jumping back to the beginning.

Instead, there’s an arduous sequence that provides backstory for the gang’s mission starring only two character who’re important later on, neither of whom are that interesting. Worse, despite filling in blanks, it still manages to start in the middle of the action and thus causes you to spend most of the time struggling to keep up.

We eventually get that Denzel reveal and gradual introduction of the others, but by that point you’ve had to sit through ten random minutes that only hurt your investment.