Sadly Over-hyped

Good movie but grossly overrated

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Return of the Magnificent Seven (1966) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Chris (Yul Brynner) and Vin (Robert Fuller) hear about some bandits who have kidnapped all the men of three villages and have headed off into the desert with them. Chris decides to gather up five more men and head out to take on a mission where they're be greatly outnumbered.If you thought any sequel could live up to THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN then you might not want to watch this. I mean, that John Sturges' film is a pure classic (as if the film it's based on) so even thinking a sequel would live up to it isn't the best thing to think. With that said, RETURN OF THE SEVEN is actually a mildly entertaining movie as long as you're not expecting for it to do the impossible.Larry Cohen's screenplay doesn't offer up any sorts of great twists or original moments but it does know exactly what it wants to deliver. A decent story with a great cast and of course a lot of action. The action scenes are certainly what makes this film so memorable and that's especially true for the finale where we get some terrific gunfights with some dynamite thrown in for fun. Director Burt Kennedy handles all of this quite well and at least keeps the film moving.Brynner is always entertaining to watch and he's good here. I thought he did a nice job slipping back into the role, although it's certainly not as electrifying as the original. Fuller, Julian Mateos, Claude Akins, Fernando Rey, Emilio Fernandez and especially Warren Oates all offer up some nice support. The cinematography is also very good with Elmer Bernstein's score still packing a punch. Sure, this sequel was made to cash in on the first film but on its own it's a decent entertainment.

It's not easy to ride on the footprints of the original "The Magnificent Seven", one of the best westerns ever made, masterfully directed by John Sturges and based on the work of art "Seven Samurai" ('54) by Akira Kurosawa. This sequel, released around 6 years later, can't even aspire as 'magnificent', but it's still an enjoyable western flick with hour and a half of pure classic escapism. Yul Brynner returns to the role of the leader of the pack, Chris Larabee Adams, this time recruiting Robert Fuller (fresh from the TV Shows: "Laramie" and "Wagon Train", playing here the Steve MacQueen's role of Vin Tannen); Julian Mateos (playing Horst Buchholz's role of Chico); Claude Atkins (from "Rio Bravo") as Frank; Portuguese actor Virgilio Teixeira as Luis Delgado; Sam Peckinpah's 'usual suspect', Warren Oates as Colbee and Jordan Christopher, in his screen debut, as Manuel. The plot is a rehash from the first film, with some interesting ideas thrown into it that could have produced a better movie if the budget was higher; the writing had been revised; the development, expanded and the directing, less pedestrian.6 years had passed and Chico is still living in the small village, working as a farmer with his wife Petra (Elisa Montés on Rosenda Monteros' role). One day, a crazy bandido named Lorca (Emilio Fernandez from "The Wild Bunch") and his army of one-hundred men, invade the village and kidnap all the male farmers to do slavery work on a 'villa', located in the middle of the desert, rebuilding a Church in homage to Lorcas's two dead sons. Petra begs Chris for help, and again with his 'second-in-command' Vin, they must recruit 5 more 'magnificent men' to rescue Chico and the poor villagers from Lorca's evil hands. Yul Brynner is always cool to follow, with his deep & imposing voice, catwalk moves, characteristic shaved head (since "The King and I") and his commanding presence that can lead a bunch of misfits gunslingers to do heroic feats, facing death to save a bunch of innocent peasants. Robert Fuller came from a background in television doing two western TV Shows (like McQueen in the first movie that came from "Wanted: Dead or Alive"), but Fuller isn't McQueen, neither Burt Kennedy is John Sturges and besides the lack of McQueen's on-screen presence and charisma, his character is too shallow and very low-profile for a second lead, also the directing and writing for his character didn't help him to impose. Warren Oates leaves a positive impression, his Colbee here reminds a lot of his future character in "The Wild Bunch", produced 3 years after this one; Claude Atkins is good as the troubled Frank, a man haunted by his past; Virgilio Teixeira delivers as a flamboyant & womanizer character, but he had too little to work with; Julian Mateos is more restrained playing Chico than the 'over-the-top' Horst Buchholz playing him in the original film and Jordan Christopher can't do much with only 5 or 6 lines in it, but his naive & well-meaning character became the heart of the movie. In short, "Return of the Seven" if compared with the vastly superior "The Magnificent Seven" is a major disappointment, especially back then when it was released, but at least it's much better than the two low budget follow-ups starring George Kennedy and Lee van Cleef playing the Chris Adams' role. Last, but not the least, the Elmer Bernstein's iconic orchestration in all its musical splendor is back, just for it, it's worth the viewing !!

The original film was a childhood favourite, but it's easy-going follow-up "The Return" is nothing more than a disappointing excuse to cash on the original's success. It wasn't a rushed production; as it came out quite a few years later but this time around the story and performances were nothing short than thin and lacklustre. Director Burt Kennedy does his best with some professionally well mounted set-pieces and striking visual details (with the beautifully spacious cinematography making a mark), but cult filmmaker Larry Cohen's screenplay is a generically unengaged rehash (where again sacrifice and hardship comes to the forefront) but it simply lacks the charm and killer punch. At times too talky and sluggishly paced without really making the characters emotionally attachable, that when it comes down to the nitty, gritty it feels mechanically laboured and short-lived. There was more effort in throwing around coin bags, than in its action. Yul Brynner returns, decked in black bringing back that tight-lipped, hardened illustration, but it's just wasn't enough to carry it along. The hired help is mostly an unmemorable one-note bunch (Claude Atkins, Elisa Montés) other than Warren Oates' verbose, womanising character. Robert Fuller scarcely takes over the character that Steve McQueen portrayed. As for the villains, they are even less interesting and imposing. Also Fernando Rey shows up as a priest. Composer Elmer Bernstein contributes once more with his excellently rousing music score. Technically its soundly made, but direly uninspired writing and performances sink it.

The first film, a remake of the classic Japanese classic Seven Samurai, was indeed a magnificent film, and you wonder if it needed any sequels, as it turns out, three sequels were made, and this was the first. Basically Chico (Julián Mateos), one of the original seven men is living in the Mexican village that they helped defend from the gang of bandits, but a new one is making its way into the town. The leader of the gang wants to build a church to commemorate his dead sons, and he kidnaps three villagers for labour, so Chico now needs to get a new team of gunmen together. He starts first by getting the other former members of the seven, Chris (Yul Brynner, the only original cast member) and Vin (Robert Fuller, replacing Steve McQueen) on board, and they go to get other recruits. They return to town with the four other men, a playboy, an avenger, a highwayman and an orphan, and once again, with the help of the villagers, they fight off the oppressors. Also starring Warren Oates as Colbee, Jordan Christopher as Manuel, Claude Akins as Frank, Virgilio Teixeira as Luis, Rodolfo Acosta as Lopez, Elisa Montés as Petra and Fernando Rey as Priest. Brynner does I suppose still do a good job, I didn't really take much notice, to be honest, the only thing to take notice off is how similar it is the film very film it is following, there may have been the odd change in story and events, and the Oscar nominated music by Elmer Bernstein is still fantastic, but the original is way better, but not a terrible western sequel. Okay!