10/21/2016 - The Magnificent Seven (2016) - 4-/10

Filled with "action scenes", but fairly inert and lacking any of the gusto and excitement of the original/fine Westerns. It is watchable, but nothing about it felt special or necessary.

Generic in almost all areas (characters, plot, beats, action, set pieces, film style, etc). Most of the cast was fine, if not forgettable. The massive amount of diversity came off as forced and strained. It seemed that the film was relying on Pratt to punch-up the connective tissue. I think that if you loved him and laughed, you probably liked the film as a whole. I did not - nothing he did or said came off as anything other than unfunny, disingenuous, and near campy.

There were story threads that were barely exposed that, if sewn into the fabric of the plot, could have added depth, meaning, and purpose. They weren't and thus didn't. To me, it all felt flat and going-through-the-motions. Palatable enough to choke down, but a sumptuous Western feast to rival its forebears or genre compadres it was not.