Micro Review: Seven Samurai (1954), The Magnificent Seven (1960)
02 Feb 2026This is a first in my new series, Micro Reviews. I won’t review every film I watch; that would get tedious and make movies un-fun quick. However, the occasional movie comes along that’s thought-provoking enough to justify jotting down a few of them.
I’ve been thinking of doing this for a while. Why not start with the 2,000th movie that I recently rated on IMDb? I have bonus thoughts on the American remake from 6 years later. Double-feature micro reviews will be uncommon, I think, but let’s bend the rules this one time.
It’s very, very hard to judge and rate a movie that was not only released 72 years ago, but also with the backdrop of a place, culture and sensibilities that I’m unfamiliar with. I appreciate Seven Samurai (1954) for a lot. There are memorable characters with distinct personalities (Kikuchiyo!). There is notable clarity in visual storytelling, such as tracking the number of downed enemies, even if some action moments were harder to follow. While the journey was interesting, the ending lacked a kind of punch that I was hoping for.
I would recommend this movie to people intrigued by film history, but not widely.
7/10 ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
The Magnificent Seven (1960) is a faithful adaptation that’s more palatable to my sensibilities. Props for not making it a scene-by-scene remake and for remixing characters and dynamics instead. It didn’t hold my attention fully, but I liked it as a product of its time. Ultimately, I think it will end up less memorable to me than the original.
6/10 ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
