The Magnificent Seven is a 2016 American Western action film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by Nic Pizzolatto and Richard Wenk.

The film stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lee Byung-hun, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, and Peter Sarsgaard.

Being denounced by the residents, Bogue has their church torched and several of the townsfolk, including farmer Matthew Cullen, brutally murdered in public view.

Chisholm recruits several others: gambler and trick-shooter Joshua Faraday, pardon-seeking outlaw Vasquez, former Confederate sharpshooter Goodnight Robicheaux, his friend, assassin Billy Rocks, and legendary mountain man Jack Horne.

Meanwhile, Bogue kills Harp and orders his Comanche enforcer, Denali, and his right-hand man McCann, to assemble an army.

Robicheaux, haunted by his experiences in the Civil War and fearing his own death if he kills again, leaves the town the night before Bogue's arrival.

Faraday is wounded by McCann, who is killed by Vasquez; the defensive line collapses, and Robicheaux returns to join the battle, warning the others of an incoming Gatling gun.

Robicheaux and Billy are killed by a second round of Gatling gunfire while covering Faraday, who charges up the hill and destroys the gun with dynamite at the cost of his own life.

The film was reported to be in the planning stages in 2012, with Tom Cruise set to star, with Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon also up for roles.

[7] In December 2013, Cruise reportedly left the project, while John Lee Hancock was brought in to write a new draft of the script.

[14] Fuqua never imagined he would get a chance to direct a Western, and when MGM called him to helm the picture, he hesitated at first, given the high regard he had for Seven Samurai and its director, Akira Kurosawa.

[15][16] Fuqua worked to create this diverse cast by incorporating actors of color, such as African-American Denzel Washington, Korean Lee Byung-hun and Mexican Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and making sure the female lead Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) did not conform to stereotypes.

[15] Denzel Washington's character, warrant officer and bounty hunter Sam Chisolm,[24] was renamed from Chris Adams, played by Yul Brynner in the original film.

The producers were skeptical whether Washington would take the job since it was a Western film, but Fuqua flew to New York City to negotiate with the actor, who accepted the offer.

[16] Scotty Augere, who had previously worked on Dances with Wolves, taught Sensmeier how to ride a horse bareback and rode with him two hours a day.

[16] Vincent D'Onofrio was cast as mountain man Jack Horne on the urging of co-stars Chris Pratt and Ethan Hawke.

[32] For the role, D'Onofrio developed a raw, high-pitched voice to give the impression of a man who has lived in the wilderness for years without speaking to people.

[44] Sony kicked off its campaign on April 20, 2016, launching the first trailer,[45] and the cast took to their social media platforms to reveal character-by-character.

Sony rounded out the campaign with a presence in live sporting events, such as National Football League, NCAA Football and local Major League Baseball games, as well as highly anticipated fall premieres and original programming, like Empire, The Voice, American Horror Story, Fear the Walking Dead and Designated Survivor.

The genre has had several recent box office flops, such as Cowboys & Aliens (2011) and The Lone Ranger (2013), but has also found success in films like True Grit (2010) and Django Unchained (2012).

[49] Its strong debut in North America was partly attributed to the presence of Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt, who industry analysts say are two of only a handful of movie stars today who consistently draw large audiences to theaters,[57] and also to Fuqua's direction.

[47][56] It was released in South Korea, its first international market, on September 14, 2016, and delivered an opening of $5.1 million, finishing in third place at the box office, behind local film The Age of Shadows and Hollywood tentpole Ben-Hur.

[60] The following weekend, it opened in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Spain and Russia,[50] and grossed $19.2 million from 63 markets, including Korea.

[47] The Magnificent Seven received mixed reviews, with critics praising the cast, action sequences, and score, but stating that the film did not offer much originality or innovation.

The website's critical consensus reads: "The Magnificent Seven never really lives up to the superlative in its title – or the classics from which it draws inspiration – but remains a moderately diverting action thriller on its own merits.

[65] IGN critic Terri Schwartz gave the film a 6.7/10, and summarized her review with: "The Magnificent Seven ends up being a bit too predictable to reach its full potential, but the fun the cast clearly had making it allows the movie to be an enjoyable ride while it lasts.

The action is big and sleek, the characters are charismatic and the film looks beautiful, but this won't be a movie that stays with you long after you leave the theater".

[66] Chicago Sun-Times' Richard Roeper praised the film, giving it a score of three stars out of four, and writing: "Overall, this is a rousing, albeit sometimes cheesy, action-packed Western bolstered by Denzel Washington's baddest-of-the-baddasses lead performance, mostly fine supporting work, and yep, some of the most impressively choreographed extended shootout sequences in recent memory.

"[67] James Berardinelli of Reelviews gave the film a score of two stars out of four, writing: "The original The Magnificent Seven found a perfect balance between moments of grand triumph and the understated, solemn denouement.

Today's The Magnificent Seven is just another superhero flick that spends half its running time assembling a band of bulletproof daredevils.