Introduction
Seventh Son is a movie from 2014 that depicts a fantasy-adventure setting. Sergei Bodrov directed the movie, which is based on the novel “The Spook’s Apprentice” written by Joseph Delaney, the first book in the Wardstone Chronicles series. The film also came with a cast of well-known actors, including Jeff Bridges, Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore, and Alicia Vikander, along with a massive budget that exceeded $95 million. After succumbing to numerous production issues and delays, the film was poorly received both critically and financially. It was supposed to kick-start a fantasy franchise in cinema.
Seventh Son failed to establish an identity within the already-crowded fantasy market, even with its seasoned actors and rich material. The movie offered an emotionally shallow blend of sorcery, swordery, mythical creatures, and lack of storyline coherence.
Plot Summary
The story is set in a mystical world full of supernatural creatures that threaten humanity. It follows the narrative of Thomas Ward (Ben Barnes), an ordinary farm boy who learns that he is the seventh son of a seventh son. This rare lineage is powerful enough to enable him to become a Spook, a dark magic warrior.
Master Gregory, a decades-old witch hunter played by Jeff Bridges, seeks to recruit Thomas. He is desperate to replace his former apprentice, recently killed by the powerful witch queen Mother Malkin. Thomas reluctantly accepts the apprenticeship under Gregory’s brutal and enigmatic training regime.
Gregory and Thomas set out to stop an escaped Mother Malkin and her army of supernatural creatures. Their journey includes perilous encounters with shapeshifters, ghostly assassins, and otherworldly beings. While grappling with these challenges, Thomas meets and falls in love with a young woman, Alice Vikander, whose loyalties are split. With her mother being a witch, Alice is torn between her love for Thomas and allegiance to her family, adding a morally ambiguous layer to the narrative.
As Malkin’s power intensifies and a near lunar eclipse approaches—an occurrence that would grant her invincibility— the final battle brews. In the peak fight, Malkin confronts her long-time rival Gregory, Thomas unlocks the true potency of his abilities, and Alice makes the pivotal choice of her journey. Ultimately, the good forces prevail, but not without bearing immense sacrifices.
Characters and Their Apprearances
Ben Barnes plays Thomas Ward
Barnes performs the reluctant hero set-piece with conviction. Yet his character is predestined to remain a mere “chosen one” because the script does not allow for any expansion. Predictable as it is, his path towards transformation seems to be charismatically traversed but fundamentally lacking in depth.
Jeff Bridges plays Master Gregory
Bridges takes an odd approach to the role, creating a character somewhere between a villainous, gravelly-voiced mentor and a drunken pirate. His raspy vocal delivery, complete with a heavy accent, is sure to be appreciated by some and dismissed by others. While some may mourn the loss of gravity that his character forgoes, in other parts Bridges comes off as somewhat respectably ridiculous.
Julianne Moore plays Mother Malkin
Moore retrieves every inch of her inner villainous witch and uses it on-screen, transforming into a performance that is unapologetically dramatic and stylized. While she is hard to ignore, some might argue her character as a one note silly threat. As an antagonist, Malkin tends to fall short by being more focused on spectacle than substance, leaving Moore’s considerable efforts to feel wasted.
Alicia Vikander plays Alice
Vikander plays a confused young woman deeply bound by a loyalty and love susceptible to both moral and emotional complexity. The sagging frame carried by Barnes allows for beweging to withstandemotion but, like the rest of the cast, the script’s failure to investigate is harsh. Nonetheless, her character undeniably holds situational complexity needing more sustained attention from the writers.
Supporting Roles
Olivia Williams, Kit Harington, and Djimon Hounsou are also cast in supporting roles. While Harington only has a cameo, Hounsou and Williams are not given great parts to work with. These performers lend the film some credibility, but their skills are mostly wasted.
Visual Aesthetics
Seventh Son does have some imagination put into the costume design, landscapes and mythical creatures. With the inclusion of dragons, ghosts, and witches, the film has fantasy elements that are reminiscent of The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones.
However, the extensive use of CGI tends to strip the film of its authenticity. Many of the effects are substandard, looking either hollow or outdated, further shattering immersion. Although frequent, action sequences feel weightless because of overused visual effects and lackluster choreography.
While the film does accomplish mood and lighting well, especially in regard to the forests, caves, and night skies, such atmospheric touches are not enough to enhance the experience.
Themes and Motifs
Fate and Ancestry
With regards to the fantasy genre, the primary driving force is the concept of destiny “being the seventh son of a seventh son”. Within the film, Thomas is presented as the “chosen one,” however, the film does not delve deep into exploring what this truly means.
Good and Evil
The primary battle between Gregory and Mother Malkin is portrayed in overly simplistic black and white morality. There are some hints of complexity—Alice’s duality, some of Gregory’s reminiscences—but the film never truly explores these deeper concepts.
Teaching and Development
This is a master-student relationship; however, the bond is superficial. Gregory’s teaching is incomplete. He does not give full-fledged lessons, Thomas undergoes forcible change into a hero instead of going through a proper emotional transition.
Post Production Problems and Scheduling Conflicts
Seventh Son suffered from problematic production issues. Scheduled to release in 2013, these issues stemmed from changes within the studio, problems with post production, and ceased distribution deals. Post release, the film was subject to increased scrutiny which combined with extended release staled expectations.
When the film became available in the US in early 2015, it received negative reviews from critics and performed poorly at the box office. It did not manage to recover the production costs from marketing, leading fo the film being labeled as a financial disaster.
Reception and Legacy
For the critics, the much touted film could only be dismissed as having a shallow plot, simplistic characters, and overuse of special effects. Many pointed out how the film had so much potential that was not captured, particularly given the incredibly talented cast and the depth of the source material. Rather than kick starting another fantasy franchise, Seventh Son became a prime example of the numerous pitfalls of attempting to build franchises on a weak foundation.
Fantasy film enthusiasts appreciate the simplistic plot complemented with occasional stunning visuals, allowing the movie to find its place among other labeled as “so-bad-it’s-good.” That said, the film remains a largely R-rated fantasy fiction in the contemporary world, far outshone by more popular adaptations as well as original works.
Conclusion
Seventh Son had all the ingredients for a compelling fantasy epic: a strong cast, captivating source material, as well as a world teeming with magic and monsters. Sadly, the end result does not meet expectations. The film is a bland journey marked by a forgettable voice, generic plot, monotonous characters, and poor CGI.
Some visually striking moments in Seventh Son seem to hint at entertainment the film could have offered, but instead it sits as a squandered opportunity in the fantasy genre. It is a glaring example of a film that could have had far more emotional complexity, imagination, and depth. Though worth watching for die-hard fantasy fans—and fans of the genre—as a strange artifact, it is by no means a necessary movie.
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