In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Saturday 4 July 2015

The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972)

For reasons that are difficult to define, viewers are conditioned to accept a trilogy. But once a series goes to part four they begin to recognise that they’re being exploited. They refuse to watch it on principle. Experience tells them it’ll be shit, so it’s best not to even bother. It's primarily for that reason that I believe the fourth and final Magnificent Seven film gets ignored.
Lee Van Cleef plays the lead, a semi-retired marshal who talks himself into one last desperate stand against a monstrous enemy. It’s fair to say that the rest of the cast aren't as strong as they could've been, but the story more than makes up for it. It doesn't skip on motivation for Cleef and the moral ambiguity gets more attention than before, raising questions about whether killing or dying in the name of good can redeem a wicked soul or taint a kind one.

3½ long odds in pits out of 5

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