Sadly Over-hyped

Overrated and overhyped

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Mexico has found itself in the midst of yet another bloody revolution-and rebel leader Quintero is arrested by the federales under the ruthless Colonel Diego. Young revolutionary Max heads over the border in search of legendary gunfighter Chris Adams, who agrees to help free Quintero. Chris rallies an unstoppable band of six mavericks and together they ride into Mexico to storm Colonel Diego's stronghold and liberate Quintero.The third movie in The Magnificent Seven quadrilogy is pretty generic stuff, although it maintains the enjoyment factor of the first two movies. Moody George Kennedy takes over from Yul Brynner as Chris and gives a great performance. I believe he's just as good as Yul if not better and Kennedy's talent as a professional character actor makes him all the more believable as our gunslinging action hero. Some of the other performances passed under my radar as I was uninterested by the characters, but Michael Ansara was excellent as Colonel Diego despite his having little to do. The script is padded out with dour scenes of conversation which makes the film feel longer than it is and as with the first two movies we have to sit through the protracted ritual of getting the seven together. However, the film is worth watching for the climatic assault on the fortress. The battle is awesome and it's the reason why I rate the movie so highly!. Impressive stunts and explosions give the viewer plenty to engage with as the body count rapidly increases. Then you have the obligatory tough guy stuff with Chris dodging screaming bullets and tossing dynamite out of harms way. In the midst of the chaos four of the seven are killed off in much the same fashion and Colonel Diego is also easily disposed of, leaving Chris and two other lucky members of the seven to ride off into the sunset-all in a days work. The violence in this movie is at it's tamest compared to the other three films. Elmer Bernstein's fantastic score is again reused and naturally gave me Goosebumps.Guns of the magnificent Seven is nothing extraordinary, but it's brilliant Saturday afternoon entertainment. Overall, a fun movie with a rousing climax. 9/10

Still riding high from his Oscar win for Cool Hand Luke, George Kennedy steps into the role that helped make Yul Brynner a bona fide western star. Thankfully George kept his hair and doesn't attempt an eastern European accent, taking the role of Chris Adams and making it his own.It's nice to see him at this point in his career, getting to play the hero instead of the amoral guy or the villain.Although no match for the original seven, a neat cast of familiar character actors, including James Whitmore, Joe Don Baker, Bernie Casey, Reni Santoni, and Fernando Rey are still a whole lot of fun to watch.Like all the sequels to the original Magnificent Seven, this is basically just a good, solid studio B-western, with a healthy enough budget, picturesque locations, excellent Elmer Bernstein score, and some well-staged action scenes. However, some fans of the Mexican Revolution themed sub-genre of spaghetti westerns might find the storyline a bit familiar.My favorite part is early on, with Monte Markham's near hanging, George Kennedy's introduction, Markham's trial by horse, and subsequent shootout. It's a really compelling sequence.

After the let-down that was Return of the Seven, it's good to know that the Magnificent Seven are in safe hands again. Dropping Yul Brynner and bringing on Georege Kennedy to pay Chris was a risky move, but it pays off. He may not look anything like the Chris from the previous two films, but Kennedy brings confidence and gravity to the role that strangely deserted the ill-at-ease Lee Van Cleef when he played him the for the final sequels, The Magnificent Seven Ride. There is a Zapata-like plot with Chris freeing a Mexican revolutionary, but to be honest, that's about it for Spaghetti Western influences. A Euro-Western it might be labelled, but it's closer to John Wayne than Clint Eastwood. So, don't expect a bloody, gritty Spaghetti with priests ears being cut off and forced to eat it, but an enjoyable Sunday afternoon western that, while it isn't as good as the original and not a violent, savage and sickening death of beating in sight, as you get in the really good Spaghetti Westerns, it can be liked and remembered with fondness.

GUNS is the second sequel to MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, and George Kennedy takes over from Yul Brynner in the lead. As unlikely as this may sound, Kennedy is reasonably convincing as a steely-eyed hired gun who ends up doing good for good's sake and rescues an imprisoned rebel leader south of the border. In the end, he doesn't even take the money. The group that ends up riding with Kennedy is a mixed bag, as this was shot in Spain and some of the performers are clearly foreign. Watch for an almost-unrecognizable Joe Don Baker as one of the Seven. Monte Markham and James Whitmore are two others. The action sequences are well done for the time, but there's an awful lot of talking and sitting around in between. I hate to say it, but even with Kennedy playing the Brynner character and the use of the original theme music, this supposed sequel is in name only.