Warning signs abound for Return of the Magnificent Seven (or just Return of the Seven) when you consider that Yul Brynner was the only returning member of the original cast and that the story is essentially a recap of the original but moved about 50 miles into a desert. It’s a textbook example of everything a film franchise should never do, but Return did it all. Although, there was enough fun in the original The Magnificent Seven that had they actually managed to recapture the spirit and bolster the cast with equally charismatic personalities then it could have amounted to more than just an abysmal failure. Instead, they took every element from the first and just copied it all. There may be some classic Western elements in here, but overall Return of the Magnificent Seven is a shamefully lazy sequel that seems intent on nullifying the struggle of the original.
Remember that village that the Seven liberated in the first film? Remember how they taught the townspeople to defend themselves against future threats? Apparently it didn’t take, and it seems that leaving one of their own to watch over the town wasn’t enough either. The sequel sees that same village marauded by a man who forces them into slave labor miles away where he intends to rebuild another town long since destroyed. Unfortunately for the evil man that put the scheme into effect, one of the men happens to be one of the few surviving members of the legendary Magnificent Seven, prompting Chris to action. Chris recruits a new band of six hired hands, rescues Chico and then does the honorable thing of shutting down the exploitative workforce and freeing the townsfolk.
The lack of the original, high profile cast couldn’t be more glaring, and it’s more painful considering the original actor playing Chico was replaced. The only two factors that feel true to the original are Yul Brynner’s presence and Elmer Bernstein’s terrific scoring. Otherwise the writing is quite poor and the story lacks any of the pluck that made the first film enjoyable from start to finish.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
There are none.
"Return of the Magnificent Seven" is on sale August 2, 2011 and is not rated. Action, Adventure, Western. Directed by Burt Kennedy. Written by Larry Cohen. Starring Yul Brynner.
