Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and James Coburn were legendary badasses.

But oddly enough, so were Yul Brynner and Robert Vaughn.

Or at least they all were in "The Magnificent Seven."

One of the greatest Westerns ever made was the American take on the Akira Kurosawa film "Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai)." The plot is the same - a group of peasant farmers hires seven gunfighters (or, in the case of the original, seven samurai) to get rid of some evil bandits who terrorize them.

The gunfighters are bitter and dangerous but have a softer side that comes out in the presence of these peaceful farmers who only wish to raise their children and crops in safety.

At first glance, it might seem odd to see Brynner as a cowboy. The actor was known for his bald head and exotic leading-man roles, but his voice changes all of that. The former trapeze artist's thunderous and unmistakable accent probably is second in the Western genre when compared to John Wayne. Brynner, who dressed entirely in black, was odd but brilliant. He kept most of his past shrouded in mystery to the press of the time adding to the enigma of who the bandit Chris Adams was.

Then there is McQueen as Vin. McQueen was one of the greatest action hero stars to live. The talented actor had a reputation as a maverick, being expelled for riding his motorcycle through a building at Carnegie Mellon University when he was younger. McQueen is the guy who knocks off bad guys while joking about it. His patent blue eyes and line delivery can't be stolen by today's action heroes. When you see him on the screen, it's not hard to see why they called him "The King of Cool."

But heroes aren't anything without an evil villain, and Eli Wallach is more than just bad - he's wicked in every sense of the word. Wallach, who still is acting, had an unaccredited role in "Mystic River" and was in Sergio Leone's brilliant Western "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." Wallach has been in a number of movies that are highly acclaimed and considered classics by many. His strong acting skills have added to plenty of films such as "The Godfather" films and "The Two Jakes."

Putting all of this action together was director John Sturges, who had a reputation for putting together large casts of talented actors. "The Great Escape" was another McQueen movie, and that film packed in actors James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, James Coburn and Donald Pleasence. Another film, which was of poorer quality, was "Marooned" with Gregory Peck, Gene Hackman, Richard Crenna and James Franciscus.

Sturges was known for directing big-budget flicks and stayed away from fancy camera tricks. Instead, he kept a conservative and clean look to his films. The director seemed at home with big-budget action movies, producing some of the best and beloved that added to the mystique of action stars such as McQueen and Bronson.

"The Magnificent Seven" is the type of film you don't have to be a Western fan to enjoy its escapism and action. The epic-sized movie will keep you on the edge of your seat as seven heroes fight against an army of bandits to defend the little guy.