Plot: What’s it about?
Chico (Julian Mateos) used to ride with six of the finest gunfighters in the land, but now he has settled down and doesn’t brandish his legendary weapons. In fact, it has been over six years since he traveled with his fellow gunslingers, but he has had a good life since, just one without the adventures of old. He is now married to his beautiful wife Petra (Elisa Montes) and to make sure his life remains peaceful, he laid his guns down for good. But things take a turn for the worse, when a ruthless bandit named Lorca (Emilio Fernandez) begins to terrorize his village. Chico knows this is not the kind of situation by himself, so he is forced to call upon his old friends, including Chris Adams (Yul Brynner). It has been a long while since these men rode together, but now they must saddle up again and save Chico’s village, which could prove to be their final battle.
While The Magnificent Seven is regarded as one of the best westerns ever, this sequel is not as revered, with good reason. I don’t think this one is as bad as the two more sequels to follow, but it just can’t measure up to the original. I wouldn’t call this a bad movie, but it isn’t that good either, just another low level western. The problems start with the cast, where only Yul Brynner returns from the first film and while the new faces are good, they simply can’t fill the boots worn by the original cast members. Warren Oates and Robert Fuller do their best and turn in decent performances, but this movie needed a central villain, though it doesn’t have one. But the cast isn’t the end of the problems here, as the direction is average and on the whole, the writing is weak and in the end, nothing seems to gel to make this all come together. I think I might like this film more if I’d never seen the original, but once you’ve seen that flick, this one seems like a poor man’s edition. If you’re a fan of westerns and need a rental, you could give this disc a spin, but don’t expect much more than a just below average western here.
If I were forced to uncover something good about Return of the Magnificent Seven, I would have to say it was the presence of Yul Brynner. His performance is nothing to be impressed with, but given the weak material here, I can’t fault him much in the end. So while his work here isn’t that great, his presence is welcome, if just as some kind of link to the original, superior motion picture. Brynner has taken some interesting roles in his career and while some weren’t that great (like this one in this sequel), some others have been very memorable. His shaven head and cold stare aside, Brynner had a lot of talent and brought a lot to all the films he worked on, even this one. You can also see Brynner in such films as The Ten Commandments, Westworld, The King and I, Anastasia, Solomon and Sheba, Futureworld, and of course, The Magnificent Seven. The cast also includes Warren Oates (Cockfighter, Rancho Deluxe), Julian Mateos (Three Silver Dollars, Demon Witch Child), Fernando Rey (Angel of Death, Eyes Behind The Walls), Claude Akins (The Devil’s Brigade, The Defiant Ones), and Robert Fuller (Maverick, The Brain From Planet Arous).
Video: How does it look?
Return of the Magnificent Seven is presented in a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. This is a more than adequate treatment, but pales when compared to the transfer given to the original, which was excellent. But this is a nice overall presentation, with a pretty clean source print and no serious issues to contend with. The colors seem bright enough, flesh tones are natural, and I saw no real errors in terms of contrast, but it just lacks the total refinement I would have liked. But while this isn’t a reference level visual transfer, it is more than sufficient and fans should be pleased.
Audio: How does it sound?
The included mono track covers the basics, but there’s not much else to discuss. The audio doesn’t seem to be that problematic, as there’s not much harshness or distortion, nor other age related issues. A few small flaws could be detected, but not enough to worry about and in the end, not enough to lower the score over. The music and sound effects are in proper order, while dialogue is clean and never presents a problem. This disc also includes audio options & subtitles in Spanish and French.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes the film’s theatrical trailer.
