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Denzel Washington Brings On Justice For Hire In ‘The Magnificent Seven’

By Phyllis Asinyanbi
Published on: 08:22 PST, Apr 20, 2016

Denzel Washington will star in a remake of the The Magnificent Seven, a Hollywood classic, taking on a role similar to Yule Brenner’s in the original film. Joining him to round out the cast are Christopher Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onforio (as the bad guy), Byung-Hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and Martin Sensmeier.

Both the original movie and the do-over feature a group of seven gunfighters who are called on to protect the Mexican town of Rose Creek from outlaws. Law enforcement can’t stop the renegades from stealing from the decent people, wrecking havoc, and terrorizing them. So the good people of the town hire an unlikely group, who are rebels and outcasts themselves, to defend the locals. The seven gun toters also prepare the villagers to fight for themselves and take back what they rightfully own.

The film will also serve as a reunion between Denzel and Antoine Fuqua, the director of Training Day, a vehicle for Washington’s Academy-award winning performance. More recently, Fuqua directed Washington in The Equalizer, which grossed $192.3 million worldwide.

Fuqua said it took some convincing to get Washington to saddle up, as the actor has never played in a Western. Over lunch, the director laid out the scenario of the actor riding over a hill on a black horse with epic mood-setting music playing in the background. Denzel smiled and said, “Let’s do it,” and his partner in crime — that is, justice — Fuqua was elated.

“I walked out of the restaurant and said to myself, ‘Denzel Washington is getting on a horse for ‘The Magnificent Seven.'”

Not only will Washington ride a horse, but he’ll do it with home-grown facial hair intact. He’s an actor who’s known for fully preparing and immersing himself into a character. Growing hair on his face was probably easy compared to learning to spin and to twirl guns. Fuqua said the Hollywood legend has his Colt 45 Peacemaker, literally, in his holster during every waking moment, noted USA Today.

“He had it with him all the time, even when he wasn’t on the set. We’d have meetings and he’d be spinning and twirling his gun while we were talking. He used to walk around his house spinning guns, go to restaurants. Obviously, people knew it was for his character.”

Some film enthusiasts question why anyone would want to remake The Magnificent Seven, calling it a perfect film. Others realize that the so-called original was a remake of Seven Samurai, a Japanese film, directed by Akira Kurosawa. A major change in the first remake was moving the setting from Japan to the American Old West.

Brenner and McQueen starred in the original film, but Fuqua said their characters served as the DNA for Sam Chisolm (played by Denzel) and some of the other characters, but each player in the new film has a unique personality. Additionally, the characters reflect a modern-day diversity by starring actors of various ethnic background.

Haley Bennett, who also appeared in The Equalizer, plays a damsel in distress who makes the initial cry for help and proposal to Sam, the bounty hunter. She is the widow of a man who was murdered by the renegades, and her request explains the purpose of The Magnificent Seven, per the YouTube teaser trailer.

“Sir, I have a proposition. We’re decent people being driven from our homes, slaughtered in cold blood… I seek righteousness, but I’ll take revenge.”

After the brief encounter with the frightened woman, Sam solicits assistance, and six more questionable men come along, realizing they can’t do the work alone.

The film is set for a September 23, 2016, release, and Denzel Washington, along with Chris Pratt, who loved acting in a Western, and the entire “magnificent seven” will be on the big screen in all their glory

Warning: The movie trailer depicts graphic violence.

[Photo via YouTube Video]

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