美国国家公共电台 NPR This Freshly Diverse 'Seven' Ups The Firepower

This Freshly Diverse 'Seven' Ups The Firepower

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Movie remakes have not been clicking with audiences lately. The new "Ghostbusters" will maybe break even. The latest versions of "Ben-Hur" and "Tarzan" each cost and lost a fortune. So what is Hollywood pushing this weekend? The magnificent - "The Magnificent Seven," which NPR critic Bob Mondello points out is a remake of a remake.

BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE²: In "Seven Samurai," seven warriors³ with swords walk into a Japanese village to protect it from bandits.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SEVEN SAMURAI")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character, speaking Japanese).

MONDELLO: Only three will walk out. In the original "Magnificent Seven," seven gunslingers ride into a Wild West town to protect it from Mexican banditos.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN")

ELI WALLACH: (As Calvera) I leave these people a little bit extra, and they hire these men to make trouble.

MONDELLO: Only three ride out. Now comes "Magnificent Seven," the remake with some clearly intentional⁴ updates to a time-honored formula. No banditos this time - the bad guy is now a greedy corporate⁵ capitalist named Bogue, and the good guys - a rainbow coalition⁶ - Asian, Hispanic, Native American, a Confederate colonel, a guy described as a bear in people's clothes and a goofball gambler, all led by Denzel Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN")

DENZEL WASHINGTON: (As Chisolm) You tell Bogue, if he wants his town, come see me.

(SOUNDBITE OF GUNSHOTS)

MONDELLO: Message presumably received. Actually, I say Denzel Washington leads this band of variously grumpy, dopey and bashful dudes, but they're actually in the employ of a woman this time - that's another change - a woman I started to think of as a particularly aggrieved⁷ Snow White.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN")

WASHINGTON: (As Chisolm) You seek revenge?

HALEY BENNETT: (As Emma Cullen) I seek righteousness, but I'll take revenge.

MONDELLO: Whistle while you work on that. The Old-West vistas⁸ and the artfully shot mayhem are appropriately flashy. If you're going to have church bells crashing down from flaming steeples, director Antoine Fuqua is the guy you want behind the camera. He previously⁹ teamed up with Denzel Washington on "Training Day" and "The Equalizer." And he seems to really enjoy watching his star ride a horse or even walk beside a horse. He also lets Chris Pratt crack wise.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN")

CHRIS PRATT: (As Josh Faraday) Danny dead - pity. I had just ordered a drink from that man.

MONDELLO: As you might expect, the firepower is significantly increased here. I don't recall a Gatling gun in the 1960 version. And the climax¹⁰ is - let's just say explosive. So if body count is what you go to Westerns for, by all means, drift into this one's corral. It's hardly magnificent.

And apart from its casting, it's not doing anything new with its premise¹¹. But it's diverting in about the way you'd expect of a remake twice removed - a perfectly¹² competent seven. I'm Bob Mondello.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

4 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

5 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 aggrieved   

adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• He felt aggrieved at not being chosen for the team. 他因没被选到队里感到愤愤不平。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She is the aggrieved person whose fiance&1& did not show up for their wedding. 她很委屈，她的未婚夫未出现在他们的婚礼上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 vistas   

长条形景色( vista的名词复数 )； 回顾； 展望； （未来可能发生的）一系列情景

参考例句：

• This new job could open up whole new vistas for her. 这项新工作可能给她开辟全新的前景。
• The picture is small but It'shows broad vistas. 画幅虽然不大，所表现的天地却十分广阔。

9 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

10 climax   

n.顶点；高潮；v.(使)达到顶点

参考例句：

• The fifth scene was the climax of the play.第五场是全剧的高潮。
• His quarrel with his father brought matters to a climax.他与他父亲的争吵使得事态发展到了顶点。

11 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

12 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。