[Movie Review] Seventh Son (2015)

Posted on February 6, 2015 by thegrandshuckett in Movie Reviews // 0 Comments

Director: Sergey Bodrov

Writers: Charles Leavitt, Steven Knight, Matt Greenberg

Runtime: 102 min

Main Cast:

Jeff Bridges as Master Gregory
Ben Barnes as Tom Ward
Julianne Moore as Mother Malkin
Kit Harrington as Billy Bradley
Djimon Hounsou as Radu

Guest Review: by Erika T

I saw the trailers for this going “Oh is that Prince Caspian in a new movie? Indeed it is! He doesn’t get enough work, I say!” Though this movie didn’t look like it was breaking any new ground, I figured I’d give it a try anyway.

Dark Magic rears its ugly head in this fantasy adventure. Decades ago Supernatural champion Master Gregory (played by Jeff Bridges) imprisons witch Mother Malkin (played by Julianne Moore). However, somehow she escapes and wants revenge. She calls upon her siblings lying in wait, enlisting their help to show all of mankind her wrath. She has to get past Master Gregory first though. Gregory takes Tom Ward (played by Ben Barnes) under his wing as his new apprentice, but time is running short until the next red moon, which will allow evil to prevail. He has to teach Tom to overcome dark magic in record time.

What I Liked:

It looks pretty good in IMAX 3D! The film actually makes good use of the 3D capabilities, making it a little more immersive. Some action scenes have a few objects and creatures jumping out at the screen, occasionally startling you. The visuals were nice if a bit unoriginal.

What I Didn’t Like:

Ben Barnes’s portrayal of Tom is fine. It’s just that when it came to the character you want to like him, but he does make some pretty silly decisions. He doesn’t listen and that gets him into trouble more than once. And he seems to be a little selfish sometimes, more wrapped up in the girl than saving the world. As a character with his psychic abilities, I just feel like he would be more concerned about getting to the bottom of the disturbing images he’s been seeing.

I like Jeff Bridges, just not as Master Gregory. Though I enjoyed his action scenes, his pronunciation was purposely weird. I didn’t always know what he was saying as his speech came out too garbled. Julianne Moore, I can’t recall seeing her as a villain in the past. Perhaps she’s done it, but I haven’t seen all of her films. It certainly wasn’t the worst character, but I think they could have done more to make her unique. She could have been more sympathetic than I found her. But she got through this mediocre film without me questioning her merits as an actor too much, so that’s a plus.

2.5

Summary

Was it a great film? No. Did it bring anything memorable to the table? No. But it’s watchable and if I had to choose between seeing this one and Jupiter Ascending this weekend, then this one is better.

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