Incoming...

Magnificent Seven remake?

I've only read snippets of information around this potential release, but it looks like a remake of probably one of the best Western films ever is in the works. Now, sometimes there'll be a collective intake of breath at even the suggestion of remaking a classic, and a lot of people will be concerned that once again Hollywood will attempt to drag a piece of classic cinema through the mud. But this hasn't always been shown to be true. While remakes such as The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) with Keanu Reeves or The Wickerman (2006) with the hilarious Nic Cage might have bombed, other attempts have managed to at least be good enough to introduce an old film to a potentially new audience. For example, I really enjoyed True Grit (2010) and I've never seen the original - so in seeing and enjoying the modern rendition of the film, I am much more likely to go back and watch the original at some point. Maybe I'll find that the original is better, but if I never get round to seeing it I'll still be pretty satisfied with the version that I've seen. The Ocean's Eleven films were great, 3:10 to Yuma (2007) is another great Western remake, and there are a number of films that wouldn't necessarily be called remakes so much as re-imaginings. Even the original Magnificent Seven (1960) is a remake of Seven Samurai (1954) - which is just as good with the added bonus of katanas! 

The reason most of the good re-makes work is down to good direction and good casting. Christopher Nolan has brought Batman from a pretty mediocre run of films, and sticking acting greats such as Jeff Bridges, Russell Crowe and George Clooney in the above mentioned films surely helped each film with its success, so in the case of this Magnificent Seven remake, the rumours of Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Costner has to be a good sign. Each of this actors has probably had a very limited number of bad films, but the vast majority of their films and performances have been top class - so surely having them all together in an ensemble kick-ass Western can only tip the odds in epic proportions. If, and none of this has been officially confirmed as of yet, these four actors are down to play some of the Seven themselves, that - if my maths is correct - will leave three more slots to be filled up, and with actors of such high calibre already you can bet that there'll be more brilliance to be added. 

I think the reason why I find myself more able to give this re-make a chance than I would some other attempts is because Western films, which are some of the best films - especially for lads -, have more or less passed by my generation. Yes, it would be nice if there could be original stories and characters bringing Westerns back into cinema, but some of the old classics are just so good that it'd be criminal to not introduce new audiences to them in a new form. I do sometimes find it hard to go back and watch the originals, especially when many of them are made over sixty years ago, partly because it can actually be hard to get hold of a decent copy. So  while it would definitely be criminal to attempt to remake The Godfather, some of the ventures into the ol' West are more than welcome in my opinion. I wish I was a cowboy.