Synopsis
When the town of Rose Creek comes under the control of the deadly Bartholomew Bogue, the townspeople hire seven outlaws to protect them. As these mercenaries prepare the town for the showdown that they know is coming, they find themselves fighting for more than money. To triumph over evil they will need to be more than good. They will need to be... magnificent.
As Sam Chisholm, Denzel Washington leads a cast that includes Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Lee Byung-hun and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo. The film does its best to give each character a decent character arc, motivation and pay off, and it largely succeeds. If you’ve seen the previous versions of the story, you’ll know that not everyone is going to make it out alive (and if you haven’t - you know now!).
The clip that we’re focusing on takes place in the aftermath of a battle between Chisolm and his men and some mercenaries who’d been occupying Rose Creek (if your group likes a good battle, albeit quite a violent one, start the clip five minutes earlier). Chisolm warns Rose Creek’s civilians that there will be some retaliation. Emma then begins the process of trying to rally people to her cause, but tells those who aren’t prepared to fight to leave the town immediately.
Discuss
- If you were a civilian in Rose Creek, would you stay and fight or leave to find safety?
- What in your life have you ever dreaded happening before? How did you prepare for it?
- Chisolm and his men are killers for hire - does that make them bad people?
- Do you agree with Chisolm that nobody knows how they feel about violence until faced with it?
After asking these questions, turn to Joshua 8. This passage sees God waging war and getting involved in the destruction of an enemy force. After you have read the passage, discuss the following questions:
- How do we know that Joshua was doing God’s work and that he wasn’t just a warlord using God to justify his actions?
- How does this story fit in with modern Christian views on war?
- Verses 24 to 29 sound like something from an 18-rated film. What image of Joshua and God does this create?
- What things in our world today should Christians ‘fight’ for? What might that look like practically?
The magnificent seven is an entertaining western with lots of thrills and action. It does have its fair share of violence for a 12A and so is only suitable for an older youth group if you choose to watch the whole film for a film night. The clip selected for this session does not contain any violence.
