Sometimes you have to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.  Though it may not seem like it, that is what Jesus did for all of us, for all time, in His Passion and death.  His struggle on the way of Calvary did what none of us could do: release us from the bonds of sin placed upon us by the enemy.  I opened this review of The Magnificent Seven (2016) with that first sentence because it is used in the film.  Before continuing, please note that this will not be a comparison to the original, or the Japanese source material from which they borrow.  Those are separate discussions.  Whatever you think of the remake’s quality, it gave some moral justification for the protagonists that I can use in a Catholic analysis of the movie.  That is not to say that the actions of the eponymous group are an apples-to-apples comparison with those of Jesus on Good Friday.  The important parallel to make involves sacrifice, which is the more specific goal for that initial sentence.

The initial moment in The Magnificent Seven features a number of explosions from the gold mines surrounding Rose Creek, your typical Western mining town.  The blasts announce Bartholomew “Bart” Bogue’s (Peter Sarsgaard) presence.  He is the corrupt entrepreneur who owns the mines, and the detonations have the scared townsfolk right where he wants them, huddled in their church.  As he strides in, demanding that they sell their land at a discounted price, one person stands up to Bart, Matthew Cullen (Matt Bomer).  As the congregation is pushed outside as the place of worship is about to be burned down, Bart murders Matthew in front of those gathered as an example.  With Matthew’s wife, Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett), looking on, Bart tells everyone he will return in three weeks, and he will be expecting cooperation at that time.  We then cut to a nearby settlement into which rides Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington).  He is a “duly sworn warrant officer,” which basically means he is a United States Marshal, and the gravitas he displays lets people know he means business.  That business is to collect a wanted fugitive, which takes place in the local saloon.  He also gets a little help from a card playing rogue named Joshua Faraday (Chris Pratt).  As Sam is settling his contract, he is approached by Emma asking that he come to Rose Creek to save them from gunmen.  He refuses until she mentions that their oppressors work for Bart.  As is hinted at throughout and revealed at the end, Bart’s company had killed Sam’s family of homesteaders back in Kansas.  Once he accepts, it is now time to recruit others.  His first ask is Joshua, settling the money owed to get a horse out of hock.  From there, they split.  Joshua is sent to bring in Sam’s old friend, the legendary sharpshooter Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke).  Joshua finds Goodnight in league with Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee), an Asian knife fighter who, along with Goodnight, essentially hustles people with their skills.  Because the two never go anywhere without each other, they join Joshua.  As for Sam, he and Emma locate Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), a Mexican outlaw with a price on his head.  Sam gets Vazquez to join them in exchange for dropping the bounty.  The last two include the mountain man (and apparent lunatic) Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), and a Commanche warrior named Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier).  Once they are assembled, they ride into Rose Creek and confront Bart’s men that had been left behind to maintain control.  When they prove unwilling to leave peaceably, a gunfight erupts.  The one survivor is brought before Sam, who informs the scared man to tell Bart that Sam Chisolm has come.  Sam is betting that will bring Bart personally.  In the meantime, instead of the nearly three weeks they thought they would have, Sam informs them that it is more like one week.  The theory is that Bart will be so enraged that he will quickly assemble a small army and return to make Rose Creek’s denizens pay.  With that, Sam’s men begin training as best they can the farmers and shopkeepers that stay behind to defend their homes.  Despite their preparations, most of those that Sam has gathered figure that they are going to die.  The one who deserts on the eve of battle is Goodnight, haunted by having fought during the American Civil War.  Sam gives the rest the option to leave, too, but they remain because they have found something worth fighting for rather than the random clashes in which they usually engage.  From here until nearly the end, it is one long gun fight during which four of the title team are killed: Billy, Goodnight, Jack, and Joshua.  One aspect of the battle to note is that Bart’s posse bring a Gatling gun, which Joshua dies destroying.  Otherwise, it comes down to the inevitable showdown between Bart and Sam.  Sam is about to get his vengeance when the matter is taken care of by Emma, who shoots Bart before the businessman can stealthily pull a pistol on Sam.  With that, Sam and those still alive depart to a battered but thankful town.

Vengeance is the theme of The Magnificent Seven, and it is one that it plays with throughout the film.  When Emma approaches Sam with her proposition, he asks if this is motivated by revenge.  She responds that she is seeking righteousness, but will take vengeance.  In a Christian sense, it is sort of like saying revenge is the spiritual consolation prize, which is not ideal.  That Sam asks about her motivations in the first place is meant to disguise the fact that he has his own agenda, though I would argue that is probably evident.  In any case, it is not ideal thinking from a Catholic point of view, and is a bit of a departure from its 1960 forerunner.  In that one, the seven are standing up to injustice, and there are no ulterior motives.  Why that is not enough for the modern take, I am unsure.  What helps somewhat is the attitude of the antagonist, Bart.  He makes some pretty dumb remarks, such as saying that democracy allows for capitalism, which is essentially God’s will.  Thus, the people of Rose Creek are standing in the way of God.  That statement makes a little sense in the context of a more Christian, nineteenth century population, but those three ideas are not a natural progression, then or now.  Such thinking is wicked, and Sam tells Red Harvest that is the type of man with whom they are going to contend.  They do so with weapons of war.  God does not necessarily discount such means, but there are other, equally valid forms of response.  Non-violence is always warranted, and history has shown that it can be more powerful than the spear.  There are, sadly, no examples of that in the movie, but it is an option to keep in mind, nonetheless.

Speaking of options, this iteration of The Magnificent Seven is not a bad one if you cannot find the original.  Doing so would not be difficult, though the current one is now on Amazon Prime for free if you have that service.  It is violent, but I appreciate the cause and some of the characters.  In short, it is not bad.