This new take on The Magnificent Seven boasts another A-list cast, but forsakes characters for bloodless, PG-13 action that entertains without resonating.

As things build toward the long, bloody and by-the-numbers (if ably staged) showdown, it's hard not to mourn for the film this could have been, considering the assemblage of talent.

It's respectful of the past, while it blazes into the future of a genre that is as American as covered wagons.

While I appreciate the attempts for bringing diversity to the Wild West, and love some of the actions scenes, this remake amuses, but mostly misfires.