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| A scene from Antoine Fuqua's latest movie "The Magnificent Seven," in which Korean actor Lee Byung-hun appears, is shown above. / Courtesy of UPI |
Korean actor Lee stands firm among star-powered cast
By Park Jin-hai
The Hollywood action blockbuster "Magnificent Seven," a reboot of John Sturges' 1960 Western, itself an adaptation of the 1954 Japanese film "Seven Samurai," will be released Wednesday.
Since the movie premiered last week at the opening film of the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), local movie fans has been particularly anxious to see the action flick.
What makes the Old West story so special to Asian fans who might otherwise be disinterested in a dusty cowboy film?
It is because of Korean actor Lee Byung-hun, who has built critical acclaim playing various unique and strong characters in Korea and abroad. In the latest rendition of "Magnificent Seven," directed by Antoine Fuqua, Lee is cast as Billy Rocks, the mysterious and lethal knife-wielding assassin who fights for justice as one of the seven bandits.
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| Actor Lee Byung-hun, who appears in the Hollywood film "The Magnificent Seven" as a knife-wielding assassin Billy Rocks, speaks during a press preview at Megabox COEX in southern Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap |
Lee, who has appeared mostly as villains for limited periods in five previous Hollywood movies including the "G. I. Joe" series, bagged a hero character this time, showing a strong presence side by side with Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt and Ethan Hawke.
In terms of plot, "The Magnificent Seven" is quite similar to the 1960s classic. It's about the old western town of Rose Krick, whose citizens are besieged by bloodthirsty industrialist Bartholomew Bogue, played by Peter Sarsgaard. Emma Cullen, played by Haley Bennett, asks bounty hunter Sam Chisolm, played by Washington, for help after her husband is gunned down. Chisolm recruits an eclectic group of gunslingers: a loud-mouthed gambler played by Pratt, a former Confederate sharpshooter played by Hawke, a knife throwing expert played by Lee, and a native American Indian played by Martin Sensmeier, to take on Bogue and his ruthless henchmen.
What saves viewers from a rather unoriginal plot is Fuqua's characteristically stylish action scenes.
From the film's start, the outlaws on horseback gallop across the dusty plain, making full use of the wide screen. Joined with the beautiful scenery and dynamic sound effects, those scenes make viewers' hearts race.
The movie has enough entertainment for all, even for those not fans of Westerns, with all the genre cliches retouched with a modern style.
The final showdown where the seven gunslingers and townspeople stand together against the villain is the highlight of the film.
Actor Lee's presence is not being taken lightly. "There are many superhero films these days with computer graphics effects and blue screens," said Lee during a media preview in Seoul, Monday. "But acting out all the action sequences in real life was extremely difficult."
As for working with Fuqua, Lee said the director was very open. "He was even open to actors about creating new scenes that were not in the script," he said. With Lee's suggestion, a sequence where farmers learn knife-fighting from Billy Rocks was included.
"He's so cool," director Fuqua said about Lee in a video message. "His look is very unique. Very funny, charming guy, very physical. He came up and we talked and right away I thought, he is a cool guy."
The film opens in local theaters Wednesday.
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