A Controversial Western Remake Is Suddenly Winning Over Streaming Audiences
One of Hollywood's most talked-about Western remakes is getting a second chance as it climbs the streaming charts. Here's why viewers are giving this once-divisive film a fresh shot at redemption.
File this under: movies that did not need to be remade but still go down easy on a weeknight. The 2016 version of The Magnificent Seven is suddenly climbing the charts again, and it is now a top title on streaming.
So, why are we talking about this one again?
Because the remake is back in the conversation thanks to MGM+. As of right now, it is the platform's 10th most-watched movie. No, it did not dethrone the 1960 classic. It also did not reinvent the genre. But if you are in the mood for star-powered shootouts and frontier justice, it delivers exactly that.
Quick refresher: what is this remake?
Antoine Fuqua (The Equalizer) directs Denzel Washington as Sam Chisolm, the steady hand leading a seven-man posse hired to protect the town of Rose Creek from a predatory industrialist. If that setup sounds familiar, it should: the original Magnificent Seven borrowed its bones from Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, and this saga has been retold a dozen different ways ever since. There is even an anime riff, Samurai 7, that tosses in mechs and magic because why not.
"Looking to mine for gold, greedy industrialist Bartholomew Bogue seizes control of the Old West town of Rose Creek. With their lives in jeopardy, Emma Cullen and other desperate residents turn to bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) for help. Chisolm recruits an eclectic group of gunslingers to take on Bogue and his ruthless henchmen. With a deadly showdown on the horizon, the seven mercenaries soon find themselves fighting for more than just money once the bullets start to fly."
Where to watch and how it played the first time
The 2016 film is streaming now on MGM+, and it is sitting at No. 10 on the service's movie chart at the moment. Back in theaters, it landed with a muted thud rather than a roar: critics were lukewarm (64% on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences were a bit kinder (71%), and the box office topped out at $162 million worldwide on a reported $90 million budget. Not a flop, not a triumph, just a shrug and a six-shooter.
Why some folks were grumpy about it
Short version: it is a remake of a landmark western. John Sturges's 1960 The Magnificent Seven is sacred text for a lot of people. Yul Brynner as Chris Adams, Charles Bronson as Bernardo O'Reilly, Steve McQueen as Vin — those performances minted a generation of cowboy cool. Rolling out a new version was always going to spark the 'why bother?' debate. The 2016 movie does not outgun the original, but it is a sturdy modern western with some swagger where it counts.
The essentials, at a glance
- Streaming: MGM+ (currently the platform's 10th most popular movie)
- Director: Antoine Fuqua
- Writers: Nic Pizzolatto, John Lee Hancock
- Cast: Denzel Washington (Sam Chisolm), Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lee Byung-hun, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Haley Bennett, Peter Sarsgaard (as villain Bartholomew Bogue), and the late Jonathan Joss
- Rating/Runtime/Genres: PG-13, 132 minutes, Action/Adventure/Western
- Theatrical release: September 14, 2016
- Rotten Tomatoes: 64% critics, 71% audience
- Box office vs. budget: $162 million worldwide on a $90 million budget
- Source roots: Inspired by Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai; the 1960 classic popularized the guns-for-hire defend-a-town blueprint
Bottom line: if you want Denzel in a hat, a stacked cast, and a clean shot of old-school showdown energy, this one gets the job done. Just do not expect it to ride off with the 'best modern western' crown — the original still wears that badge.