Seventh Son Movie Review

Cast: Julianne Moore, Ben Barnes, Jeff Bridges, Kit Harington, Alicia Vikander, Djimon Hounsou, Antje Traue, Olivia Williams

Direction: Sergei Bodrov

Genre: Action

Duration: 1 hour 43 minutes

 

Story: Only the 'seventh son', Tom Ward (Barnes), has the power to help stop an evil, shape-shifting witch named Malkin (Moore), who having escaped from imprisonment, will come to power during a Blood Moon night. Before Ward can even hope to have a chance, he must be trained in the art of battling the supernatural by the Spook, John Gregory (Bridges).

 

 

 

Review: John Gregory is the last survivor of a group of knights who used to, in days of old, battle all manner of evil, be it from this world or the next. As the last man standing - or in his case, hunched over a bar stool in a tavern and nursing a pint of ale - he is now grizzled and old. Gregory is approached by his apprentice for a mission - recapturing Malkin, who has escaped her remote confinement from what looks like the medieval version of the Grand Canyon. While Gregory (whose warbling speech sounds like he has a mouth full of marbles) manages to survive various battles, his apprentices aren't that fortunate. Gregory later turns up at Ward's country home. The latter often has visions that are meant to convey that he can look into the future, and is according to Gregory, the one who can stop Malkin before the Blood Moon rises in the near future. Initially bumbling, Ward gradually finds his depth, along with a love interest in Alice (Vikander) who is the daughter of a witch named Lizzie (Traue). It all leads up to the final battle between Malkin and her monsters versus the Spook and Ward.

 

The sets look like budget Lord of the Rings and the script isn't really much to write home about. Almost no backstory is offered for any of the main characters or how they connect and it's also unclear whether the movie is set in medieval Europe or some fantasy world.

To be fair, it's apparent that the most effort has gone into the visual effects and the battles, which are the two redeeming factors about this film.