I know there are quite a few people who despise commercials and trailers before a screening is set to start. And quite frankly, I never understood that. I love trailers. Sometimes they even turn out to be better than the movie. While already comfortably waiting for “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” to begin in its all 3D, HFR glory, I of course got to see my usual dose of trailers and teasers. Dragons, witches, Jeff Bridges and glistening swords… Dear Lord, what is this? I have to see it. Apparently, I was impressed and intrigued by “Seventh Son”, which already premiered in Europe, just before the New Year, and will only premiere in the United States on February 6th.
This fantasy tale is based on the novel “The Spook’s Apprentice” by Joseph Delaney, which is the first story in the series “The Wardstone Chronicles”. The plot doesn’t differ much from your typical “chosen one” storyline. Thomas Ward (played by Ben Barnes), the seventh son of a seventh son, is chosen by the Spook Gregory (played by Jeff Bridges) to be his apprentice and travel the world as a hunter of the supernatural. Both of them have to face the dreaded Mother Malkin (played by Julianne Moore), a powerful witch, to save the lands and their loved ones.
As the movie began, I just couldn’t shun away the thought of this movie feeling different. I wasn’t sure if it was in a good way or a bad one, but the movie just didn’t feel right. Through the entire running time I couldn’t put my finger on what felt different. Only when the credits started rolling, I finally understood what seemed out of the ordinary. The movie was directed by Sergei Bodrov. And I don’t mean that Bodrov is a bad director. This time it is not the case. It’s because this movie is somewhat of a Russian production. (Yes, I understand that most of the cast and crew are American). The director and screenwriters try so hard to appeal to the mass “western” audience that they do everything you would think makes a successful movie of the fantastical adventure genre. And… Well, they fail on many accounts.
First of all, I haven’t read the original Delaney series, but from what I’ve gathered, Tom was supposed to be a 12 year old boy in the beginning. In the movie adaptation we see a hunky in his early-twenties model-esque hero. Attached to the production earlier was the almost always shirtless “Hunger Games” star Sam Claflin. But because of filming delays he soon dropped out and was replaced by “Narnia’s” Prince Caspian Ben Barnes. And while being easy on the eyes, I have to say that his performance was generic and not memorable in the slightest. An even worse job was done by our main love interest Alicia Vikander, who portrays a young witch. Or to be even more clear, nothing was done. She was a million times before seen damsel, who tried to take action and failed at it miserably, placing everyone even in greater danger. There was no chemistry or charisma between the two romantic leads and their love scenes seemed awkward and slightly forced.
Jeff Bridges didn’t seem to put much effort in either. At moments I started pondering if it was just me or was he actually slightly bored. But I do genuinely want to blame all of this on the writing and not Bridges, who we know can give absolutely stellar performances. And what was up with that bizarre accent? It seemed Gregory “The Spook” was going through a stroke while being heavily intoxicated. The relationship between him and Tom played on the “tough love” teacher, who acts a tad like an ass, but only because he cares and wants to protect you. Nothing what we haven’t seen before. I would have been a lot more intrigued to see Bridges interacting with a young boy, like it was written in the books. It would have brought an entirely different feel to the entire story.
Finally, here comes in Mother Malkin. I have to say right off the bat, I’m terribly biased when we have witches in movies. Even if Julianne Moore came off as silly at times, I still really enjoyed her performance. After all, this is a witch, inspired by Maleficent, who shapeshifts into a dragon. Sorry, I’m sold. Although, this does bring me to the fact that the CGI wasn’t all that great in this movie. The dragon seems pretty darn cool when it first appears. Of course, it was no Smaug, but bare in mind the budget differences and the number of people backing up each project. Yet, after a while the quick shapeshifts and the slight haziness of it starts to annoy. But, overall, I did enjoy Moore as she did try to work with the material given and look as seductive and malicious as a witch should. Even if everything around her looked quite dull and very visibly computer-generated. 
The cast mostly was a hit or miss, all suffering from mediocre writing. The pacing suffered from it too. It seemed like the movie was rushing through the storyline in order to finish everything until the credits start to roll. I hate to say it, oh I truly do, but either the movie had to be longer or maybe cut into two parts. Because now, mostly because of budget and production troubles, the movie was relatively short and lacked time for proper character development. Like the movie was stitched up from bullet points.
“Seventh Son” could have been a really nice fantasy adventure series. Witches, ghouls, a wise Spook, a menacing villain and a likable hero. Sadly, Sergei Bodrov tried too much to please the masses and went overboard with the adventure movie cliches. Everything seemed generic and plain. A handsome hero? Check. A wide-eyed pouty lips love interest? Check. A wise, but douchey mentor? Check. Overuse and misuse of CGI and 3D? Check and check. The movie tried its best, but in the end tried too hard. Maybe if the creative team would have done something more out of the framework, we would have have that awkward and slightly bizarre movie that you don’t quite get, but still enjoy the hell out of. Now, the movie was pretty regular. Nothing more, nothing less.
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