Lucybespro It is a performances centric movie

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

classicsoncall The movie doesn't have the star power of the original but it's refreshing to see Lee Van Cleef in a Western leading role for a change. His character is Chris Adams, a role portrayed by Yul Brynner in 1960's "The Magnificent Seven". The character is played with some ambiguity, since even though Chris is a town marshal, he's not above shooting a couple of bullies who rode off with a young man he freed from prison at his wife's (Mariette Hartley) request. Events conspire to propel Chris and pulp tabloid writer Noah Forbes (Michael Callan) to form an alliance with five hardened criminals who are granted amnesty provided they accompany Chris to rescue the Mexican town of Magdalena against a marauding bandit named De Toro.Though the film plays out largely as a made for TV Western, I was intrigued by the preparations for battle made by Chris with the help of one of the convict cohort, Captain Andy Hayes (James Sikking). In charge of the mandatory explosive devices was Luke Askew as Skinner, while the widowed women of Magdalena pitched in to help defend their small town against the outlaw gang. The expected confrontation held it's fair share of surprises and violence against the Mexican outlaws, though it came to a rather abrupt end with the death of De Toro (Ron Stein), who for all the build up of the character, had almost no screen time and very little in the way of presence considering the way the part was written.With virtually no time spent grieving for his murdered wife, Chris forms an amiable alliance with Stefanie Powers' character, Laurie Gunn and they close out the picture as one of the couples to survive the gunfight. Considering his options, I was left a little puzzled by Chris's decision to remain behind in Magdalena as the new village marshal, wondering to myself what the citizens of his former town would have thought about that.

Coventry Just when you think they're releasing more and always inferior "Magnificent Seven" sequels solely because people can't get enough of Elmer Bernstein's legendary musical score, comes the final and (in)arguably best follow-up of the whole franchise. John Sturges' 1960 original, although merely just a blatant imitation of the Japanese milestone "Seven Samurai", can righteously be considered as a true American western classic, but parts II and III are downright shameless, uninspired and totally redundant rehashes without any entertainment value whatsoever. The character of Chris Adams, twice depicted by Yul Brunner and once by George Kennedy, grew out to become some sort of philosophical prophet who always does the right thing and the rare highlights of the sequels were just vague copies of similar moments featuring in the original. With this fourth and final installment, we arrived in the decade of 70's cinema and is this ever noticeable or what? What the Italian directors already knew throughout the entire 1960's had now suddenly become clear in the USA as well: westerns need to be mean and dirty, with despicable characters (even the heroes!), graphic violence and plenty of sleaze and smut! Even the traditional goody-two-shoes Marshall Chris Adams has suddenly become an embittered and narcissistic persona, though admittedly the performance and natural charisma of Lee "the Bad" Van Cleef adds a great deal to this transformation. Not once but twice Chris rejects the cry for help of an old pal, who begs him to come and fight an unfair battle against a Mexican posse that terrorizes a small little town near the American border. Instead of that, he chooses to go after one sole juvenile delinquent who raped and murdered his own wife. Only when Chris discovers that his pal killed off the youthful thug because he joined the posse, he feels responsible to take over the good cause and defend the remaining widows of the little community. Chris' six "noble" helpers aren't heroic lonesome cowboys, but convicted criminals who only participate because it's their only chance for parole. This minor chance in the formula actually makes this final entry more like a crossover between "The Magnificent Seven" and "The Dirty Dozen". And last but not least, the allegedly poor and defenseless town women are actually more like luscious and horny widows. They don't exactly appear mournful over their brutally slaughter farmer husbands and pretty much throw themselves at the robust macho thugs. It also has to be said that they don't really look like Mexican farmer women, but more like the ensemble staff of a luxury brothel. All this is perhaps a bit of an abrupt alternation of the franchise, but it's the best damn thing that could have happened to it! The gunfights are quite nasty, with lots of blood spurting out of people's stomachs and heads, and the climax is short but exhilarating. Van Cleef is awesome as always (by God, I love that guy) and there are terrific supportive roles for Luke Askew, Ed Lauter and William Lucking. And, not to forget, a modest but memorable cameo appearance of a still very young Gary Busey.

bkoganbing Taking more of its plot from The Dirty Dozen than from the previous Magnificent Seven movies, The Magnificent Seven Ride! finds Lee Van Cleef in the role of Chris the leader, previously filled by Yul Brynner and George Kennedy.There's a bandit named DeToro (Ron Stein) who apparently took over the role from Rudolfo Acosta mid point in the filming who's a really nasty devil, raping the women of a given place after the men have been killed is an avocation of his. When he rapes and kills Van Cleef's woman, it's time for Van Cleef and writer friend Michael Callan to find five more to make another seven.Good men are hard to find so when you can't find good ones, get bad ones. Which Van Cleef does by going to the nearest prison and getting five specimens, William Lucking, Luke Askew, Pedro Armendariz, Jr., James Sikking, and Ed Lauter. Obviously this part of the plot is completely ripped off from The Dirty Dozen. And Van Cleef does have an interesting way in both insuring his parolees don't desert him and guarantees that the bandit chief will meet him on ground of his own choosing. That's the big surprise of the plot and I won't reveal it.Some surviving women of another town, Stefanie Powers, Mariette Hartley, Allyn Ann McLerie, and Melissa Murphy join up with the Dirty Seven knowing full well, it's either their protection or their open targets any time the bandits are having a booty call. This is the only Magnificent Seven film with any real women participation in it.Still it doesn't quite come up to the standards of that first film. None of the successors do.

zardoz-13 "The Magnificent Seven Ride!" qualifies as a saddle sore sequel compared to its two predecessors, Burt Kennedy's "Return of the Seven" (1966) and Paul Wendkos' "Guns of the Magnificent Seven" (1968), the followed John Sturges' incomparable original "The Magnificent Seven." Lee Van Cleef is the best thing about "TM7R." He looks like he belongs in this uninspired horse opera and his performance is top-notch. No, he looks nothing like either Yul Brynner or George Kennedy. Nevertheless, he lends a commanding presence that this woebegone western desperately needs. Indeed, Van Cleef dwarfs the rest of the cast. Moreover, this "Seven" lack depth of character and whip up no more than a modicum of sympathy, unlike their forerunners."Frogs" director George McCowan manages to keep the action galloping along for its 100 minutes, and seasoned TV scenarist Arthur Rowe has altered the formula for this outing. For example, unlike the original, our heroes attack the Hispanic villain's camp before they engage him in a fight to the death in the village at the end. Unfortunately, "The Magnificent Seven Ride!" breaks too many rules. The villain is a one-dimensional cipher with no personality. Indeed, he doesn't utter a word. The best part of this lackluster western occurs in the last twenty minutes as the seven prepare for the onslaught of De Toro's men. "TM7R!" looks tired, empty, and worn out owing to its ersatz back lot setting and familiar television locales. Clearly, McCowan could not surmount the obstacles inherent in the low budget. Walter Thompson does a competent editing job, but he doesn't have much with which to work so the film has a routine rhythm to it. Talented "Patton" lenser Fred J. Koenekamp had little time to make this sagebrusher look as majestic as the earlier "Seven" entries.Die-hard "Magnificent Seven" fans have every right to abhor this lame western. I saw it in the theatre when it came out in 1972 and found it nothing short of deplorable. "The Magnificent Seven Ride!" doesn't live up to the Sturges, Kennedy, and Wendkos films. In fact, Geoff Murphy's television pilot surpasses the McCowan film. I remember "Playboy" magazine film critic Bruce Williamson commented that "TM7R" got by "on bits and pieces." In retrospect, more than 30 years later, my aversion to this film has dissipated. Although the McCowan film has its good points, the bad points set aside most of its assets. The stupendous Elmer Bernstein orchestral score seems to have lost its grandeur, too."The Magnificent Seven Ride!" opens with Lee Van Cleef and another horseman skedaddling out of town. One of Chris' pals from the past, former bounty hunter Jim McKay (Ralph Waite of "The Stone Killer"), is riding to see him in the hope that he can enlist Chris' help against a dastardly Mexican bandit called De Toro. Two of De Toro's men lay in ambush for Jim, but Chris guns down them and saves his old friend's life. When Jim asks Chris to ride with him, our pipe-smoking protagonist refuses. Not only has he ridden to Mexico three times before, but now he has taken a wife, Arrila (Mariette Hartley of "Barquero"), "who's still practically a bride." McKay reminds Chris that he saved his life, but Chris isn't about to budge. MacKay reminds them about the first time that they went south and earned only $50 dollars per man. Chris still turns him down.Meanwhile, a washed up journalist, Noah Forbes (Michael Callan of "Cat Ballou"), wants to immortalize Chris the way the real-life Ned Buntline did Buffalo Bill Cody. While all this is transpiring, Arrila pleads with Chris to release an 18-year old robber, Shelly (Darrell Larson), who is about to serve a stretch at the infamous Tucson Territorial Prison. Eventually, Arrila wears her husband down and Chris frees Shelly. Shelly repays him by robbing the town bank, wounding him in the shoulder, and abducting Arrila. Chris and Noah track down Shelly's accomplices and Chris guns them down in cold blood. Chris crosses trails with Jim again. Jim is the law in Magdalena, a Sonora farming village that consists primarily of Mexicans with a few American families. De Toro (Ron Stein)and his army of pistoleros terrorize the border. Neither the Rurales nor the U.S. Calvary has had any luck thwarting his notorious activities. Worse, neither refuses to work with the other. When Chris encounters Jim the second time, he learns that Shelly has ridden by and left. Chris learns later Shelly joined De Toro's gang, showed them a rear approach (a la "The 300 Spartans") but Jim killed Shelly. "He's done my job," Chris observed, "I'll do his." Chris rides into Magdalena and finds wives who're widows and some children. They don't have enough horses to escort them out of the village, but De Toro and his gang have ridden north across the border. Chris promises Mrs. Laurie Gunn (Stephanie Powers of "Hart to Hart")that he'll return. Noah and Chris ride to Tucson Territorial Prison where the warden reluctantly paroles into his custody Walt Drummond (William Lucking), Scott Elliot (Ed Lauter), Matt Skinner (Luke Askew), Pepe Carral (Pedro Armendáriz Jr.), and ex-Army officer Andy Hayes (James B. Sikking). Chris warns them that he has to consign the pardons before they can be freed and that he dies under any circumstances that the law will track them down."TM7R" looks completely different from the three earlier oaters. "The Magnificent Seven" was made in Mexico, and "Return of the Seven" and "Guns of the Magnificent Seven" were shot in scenic Spain. In fact, "TM7R" was shot at Universal Studios back lot where "Laredo," "Alias Smith & Jones," and "The Virginian" were made. The exterior desert scenes were lensed at Vasquez Rocks where Captain Kirk battled an alien in the "Star Trek" episode "Arena" and where virtually every cheapjack genre B-movie has been shot."The Magnificent Seven Ride!"isn't very magnificent.