Western – Action Hero Movies

Over half a century after the original movies of the same name, this Magnificent Seven remake in 2016 stars Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt (who both perform outstandingly) among other strong supporting actors like Lee Byung-Hun (who also does an excellent job), Martin Sensmeier (who does pretty good), Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (who does pretty good), Ethan Hawke (who does alright) and Vincent D’Onofrio (who also does alright) – together they make up The Magnificent Seven – a group of seven expert gunslingers (well, one throws knives & darts, and another shoots arrows) who agree to save a small western village from being occupied & slaughtered by a small army of wealthy mafia-type bandits with a financial interest in local mining operations.

Although there are two megastars supported by several other strong performances here, I would have liked to see much stronger characters in the opposition.

Martial arts wise, there’s a lot of gun slinging, not much fist fighting, but there’s some creative battlefield tactics at work, so it’s definitely got martial arts value.

Plot wise, it’s a pretty simple concept, and although the acting is great by Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt, the action can get a bit slow or monotonous at times, with over drawn out shooting scenes, a bit of gritty drama and a bit too much horror genre creeping in with innocent people being slaughtered by a gatling gun while babies are crying etc. Some people might call it a masterpiece but it’s mixing up the genres too much for me – I’m here for the action heroes and on that basis I rate this movie just OK. You won’t get terribly bored if you’ve not seen it before, but you won’t be in a hurry to rewatch it either.

Inferno (also released as Desert Heat) is a simple story exhibiting classic Van Damme, as plays Eddie Lomax, a man ready to die, who rolls into a town called Inferno, somewhere in the Old West, to visit an old friend, an Native American Indian man called Johnny Six Toes, played by Danny Trejo, to deliver him a gift – an Indian motorcycle – and to ask for his blessing in ending his life. Unfortunately, before the gift could be delivered, the bike got stolen and Eddie nearly killed in the process. So Eddie stays in town for a bit longer, to deal with the thieves, and in the process, deals with two large gangs of thugs, while making some good friends and finding a woman he loves.

Van Damme is his usual self, convincing and entertaining in his role as Eddie Lomax, and he’s blessed with a decent script here – it’s no stunner but it’s sufficient for his essence to come out quite well on screen. Van Damme looks consistently cool, and there’s a nice injection of humour from time to time.

Danny Trejo does a decent job as Johnny Six Toes, the Indian man who is Eddie’s old friend. Since Eddie saved Johnny’s life a long time ago, the two have become spiritually joined at the hip.

The lead female role, Rhonda Reynolds, the local diner’s chef who becomes Eddie’s girlfriend by the end, is played by Gabrielle Fitzpatrick – she does a decent job – quite convincing.

We’re also blessed with a strong supporting role played by Pat Morita (better known as Mr Miyagi from The Karate Kid). In this movie he’s getting on a bit, but still does well in the character of a patient, positive & helpful old man.

I would say this movie is slightly above average in Van Damme’s overall filmography. It’s not on the level of Bloodsport or The Quest but is not far behind. He’s in his prime here, and is backed by a decent cast. It’s better than a lot of the cheaper straight-to-video movies he’s made throughout his busy career – most of which are still classics nevertheless.