‘Magnificent Seven’ is a perfectly entertaining take on a classic

Seven Samurai should be required viewing for any self-respecting lover of film. It is perhaps one of the best films of Akira Kurosawa, a director whose canon of films is filled with near-perfect efforts.

But for today’s mainstream audience, it might not even merit a glimpse of its trailer because 
a) It’s old (released in 1954)
b) It’s in black and white
c) It’s long (about 3.5 hours)
d) It has subtitles.

Of course, just six years after its release, director John Sturges decided to repackage the film as a Western called “The Magnificent Seven,” which has rightfully earned its fair share of followers who praise the film, particularly the performances of its charismatic leads: Yul Brynner, Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen and James Coburn, for starters.

But, truth be told, when you look back at some of the sprawling John Ford classics, the raw brutality of Sam Peckinpah, or even the guilty-pleasure grit of Sergio Leone’s latter “spaghetti” westerns, the 1960 “Seven” is a perfectly solid time capsule, but perhaps has not withstood the test of time as well as “Samurai.”

So, when it was announced that it was to be remade, it did not strike me as heresy the way it has some Western purists. It reteamed the always-dependable Denzel Washington with director Antoine Fuqua, who both crafted one of Washington’s most indelible characters, Detective Alonzo Harris in “Training Day.”

The result is another perfectly entertaining take on a classic that may not have the longevity of the 1960 film (and in no way will even scratch the surface of the Kurosawa classic), but it should provide a rousing ride for those who perhaps are not well-versed in the long-dormant genre.

The mining town of Rose Creek is besieged by Bogue (played by Peter Sarsgaard), a rapacious wrangler itching to eject all the residents and take every ounce of gold for himself. The peaceful town is ill-equipped to defend itself against Bogue’s ruthless minions, so they turn to a dashing bounty hunter named Sam Chisholm (played by Washington) who materializes at just the right time and is approached by a widow (played by Haley Bennett) of one of Bogue’s victim to help.

Reluctantly, Chisholm agrees, and assembles his Old World Avengers, including: Josh Faraday (played by Chris Pratt) who’s only faster at cards than he is with a gun; Confederate sniper Goodnight Robicheaux (played by Washington’s “Training Day” co-star Ethan Hawke); Asian gunslinger Billy Rocks (played by Byung-hun Lee) who can fire off knives with even better accuracy than bullets; a Mexican bandit (played by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo); Red Harvest (played by Martin Sensmeier), a Comanche who’s strayed from his tribe; and Randy Quaid (OK, it’s actually a loopy, bearded mountain man played by Vincent D’Onofrio, but judge for yourself).

The update does receive points for providing us with an ethnically diverse band of misfits, but if there is a flaw, it’s that throughout the two-plus hours together, they are not given enough opportunity to cohere as a fraternal unit.

The only actor who comes close to capturing the spirit of the outlaws of yore is Washington, whose entrance promises a pace and tone that the rest of the cast have trouble replicating.

Also, once the shootouts begin, Fuqua’s hypercut style makes it difficult for us to discern just who is doing the shooting and who is being shot. And as menacing a glower as Sarsgaard can produce, he’s not in it enough for us to truly despise him.

That said, there are more than enough moments in the film that measure up for a solid - if indistinguishable - entry into the genre. It’s a sturdy, serviceable campfire tale that will ride off into the sunset of your memory before you pull out of the parking lot.