Le septième fils

I have read a few books from the Spook's Apprentice series and I can tell you with certainty that this movie is very far from the plot there. Worst than that, every decent scene in the film is in the trailer and the rest are just filling. No real fights, no real drama, the acting was abysmal, but it pales in comparison with the script, which seems to be have been written by a banker worrying he is giving the world too much. It is a horribly bad film that I advise against watching.

The books themselves are a sort of Harry Potterish thing for children, replacing Hogwarts with a grumpy fighter against the creatures of the dark and Harry with a rare "seventh son of a seventh son" that is traditionally employed in this "spook" business. There were several things that went against this series becoming very popular: first is the term "spook" which in the US was controversial due to some colloquial racial meaning, so they changed the name with which they published the book into The Last Apprentice. Then the name of the author, Joseph Delaney, which is pretty common and easy to confuse with other writers named Delaney.

However the plot of the books is easy to follow, interesting, sometimes engaging; Delaney had just as much right for fame as J.K. Rowling. Alas, this film pretty much cements his failure. Too bad.

I can see why critics and people in general are dissing the film. I think the problem with the film, is that it's director, Sergey Bodrov has never done a film of this scope. At least, never a film with a budget of 95 million dollars.

The film is 102 minutes long. Had it been longer, I think many more "things" could have been better explained. It just seemed some of the scenes were out of sequence, or, didn't have enough detail. Had this film had Peter Jackson, or Guillermo del Toro at the helm, it would have been an entirely different film. Considering the LOTR series each had about the same budget, this film could have been so much more.

The film seemed fragmented. It reminded me of the failed film Eragon, where you suddenly go from farm boy, to instantly learning Elvish, knowing how to fight, and just "knowing" everything. We need to see the characters develop.

Now, I'm a hard core fan of this genre. I'll be the first to admit, that pairing Jeff Bridges with Julianne Moore was a great idea. While we get more background on Bridge's character than we do with other characters in the film, their performances, while quite acceptable could have been much better. Personally, I thought Bridges portrayal of Master Gregory was well executed. Again, I think the director was perhaps the main problem, reigning in their performances.

I keep seeing articles and reviews from people who've read the book, then bash the film because the film itself is so far separated from the text. I don't like to compare books to film, simply because you can go into so much more detail in a book.

I have to say it. I still enjoyed the film even though it left a lot of unanswered questions for me. If you like the fantasy series, as I do, then go into the film without preconceptions, and, enjoy it for what it is, entertainment. While it's not the best film to ever hit the big screen, it's still fun.

It isn't easy to make a good fantasy film – as borne out by Seventh Son, which has suffered a particularly arduous journey to the silver screen. Originally slated for release in February 2013, its visual effects house went bankrupt and its studio, Legendary Pictures, parted ways with distributor Warner Bros. The film that's finally stumbling into cinemas almost two full years later (courtesy of Universal Pictures) should be an unmitigated disaster. Surprisingly, it's not. The film isn't exactly great, but it's a largely entertaining romp that's more inspired by than strictly faithful to Joseph Delaney's series of bestselling books.

Tom Ward (Ben Barnes) is the seventh son of a seventh son: a rare genetic lineage that sets him on the path to becoming a Spook a.k.a., a slayer of the myriad evil creatures that haunt the land. He becomes the apprentice of grizzled, alcohol-addled John Gregory (Jeff Bridges), shortly after Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore), an evil witch, escapes her earthly prison to claim the world as her own. With only a week to go before the blood moon rises, Tom trains with Gregory but finds himself distracted by the charms of Alice (Alicia Vikander) – a mysterious young lady with a few secrets of her own.

While hardly groundbreaking in any way, the story unfolds with unexpected punch. Tom's story – one in which he comes of age and comes into his own – is accompanied by plenty of action sequences, courtesy of bone-crunching battles between men and other men (and women) who turn into soaring, swooping, fire-breathing dragons. Tom tumbles over a cliff to avoid a pursuing monster, Gregory battles a gigantic bear, and wraiths of smoke and despair trail after the Spook and his apprentice as they make their way through a dark, brooding forest.

It helps, too, that the film is leavened by a welcome bite of humour. Seventh Son doesn't take itself as deadly seriously as some of its brethren in the fantasy genre do. That's why Gregory plunges into a bar brawl armed with nothing more than his flagon of beer, and Tom is allowed to make quite a few cutting remarks about his purported mentor that are heartily returned with interest.

Ardent fans of Delaney's books should be warned: Seventh Son riffs on elements of the novels rather than staying strictly true to them. For one thing, Tom is considerably older in the film. Most noticeably, Malkin is a very different character than she is on the page. She's given more depth and complexity here, her vile behaviour explained, if not strictly justified by, her past entanglements with Gregory. It's actually quite nice to see a fantasy world that doesn't simply perpetuate the trope of the wicked witch, but instead dreams up characters that fall along a broad spectrum of morality.

Barnes is well-cast as Tom, holding his own as both a hero and quasi-romantic lead. He shares a sweet, though not particularly electric, chemistry with Vikander who is, thankfully, called upon to do more than simper and flirt. But there are considerably more thrills to be had with Bridges, who manages to fold charm, menace and darkness into Gregory; and Moore, who's clearly having plenty of fun cutting her way through scenes as a whirlwind of madness and malevolence.

By all accounts, Seventh Son should really have been an outright flop. It may still play as such to any fantasy aficionados who are demanding greatness on the level of The Lord Of The Rings. But, for pretty much everyone else, Seventh Son is an entertaining, undemanding film with some good ideas and a lot of fun moments. It's not a particularly great example of its genre but, given its troubled production history, that it's not completely execrable is probably nothing short of a miracle.

This film tells the tale of a seventh son from a village, who is chosen by a master to fight the evil witch who will rule the land.

"Seventh Son" is one of the rare mediaeval fantasy film, that don't seem to be made anymore. This fantasy tale is entertaining, and Julianne Moore gives a good performance of a cold blooded witch. The story itself is not particularly interesting or engaging, and there is little thrill. The film is heavily reliant on computer generated graphics, but we have been wowed by "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" already. Hence, "Seventh Son" offers nothing new, and only offers a brainless way to kill two hours.

Set in medieval times in Europe somewhere, "Seventh Son" brings us back to a time when supernatural beings like witches, ghosts, ghasts and the like wreak terror on the countryside. The people depend on a special knight called the "Spook" to fight these creatures and restore peace.

Master Gregory is the last spook and he is getting on in age. In his last big fight with the grand witch Mother Malkin, he lost his latest apprentice Billy. Gregory searches for another "seventh son of a seventh son" to take his place.

His quest leads him to the farm of the Wards. As the young impulsive Tom heeds the Spook's call, will he be up to the task of becoming the new Spook before Mother Malkin fully regains her powers by the night of the blood moon? Or will Tom's falling for the charms of pretty Alice distract him from his destiny?

Cut down to its basic storyline, you would see a very common basic plot in many an adventure film: an old master training an heir-apparent to his position. This film takes that plot and brings into it fantastic monsters in action and teenage romance in bloom.

Ben Barnes plays Tom Ward. Barnes first gained attention as Prince Caspian in the Narnia films, though his career did not really fly too much. He takes another stab at stardom with yet another action fantasy with this one. Already a adult man, Barnes seemed too old for the character he is supposed to play. Anyhow, he still has a youthful mien to pull it off. I think he was cast so that a romance angle can be developed as well.

Jeff Bridges plays Master Gregory. He is at his hammy best here and he looks like he had a good time filming this. In fact, Bridges felt like he just reprised his role in last year's "RIPD", where he was a senior ghost policeman training a new recruit. Bridges had some witty ripostes which added the requisite humor to the proceedings.

Julianne Moore goes all campy playing Mother Malkin with evil relish and glee. She gets to wear more witchy-chic than Maleficent and she seemed to be having a field day with this over-the-top character, much unlike the more serious and quiet ones she is more known for. In addition, she and her coven of powerful witches (played by Antje Traue, Djimon Hounsou, Jason Scott Lee, among others) get to transform into dragons and similarly fantastic beasts, thanks to neat and nifty computer- generated special effects.

This film is based on the young adult novel "The Spook's Apprentice" written by Joseph Delaney. Unlike the atmospheric creepy book it was based on, the film is makes it more of an action fantasy for cinematic verve. Tom and Alice in the book are both pre-teens. The witch characters did not fit their descriptions in the book as well. They did not turn into animals, for one. In fact, one of the side characters, the deformed humanoid Tusk, even shifts over from evil in the book to good in the film.

The visual effects were hit and miss, some (like the creature transformations) were impressive and seamless, but some (like the conflagrations) looked old-fashioned and garishly fake. Book fans may be disappointed by the major deviations from the original tale. Those who are unfamiliar with the book though will be entertained, but will definitely feel that the story being told by director Sergey Bodrov follows a tired and very familiar formula. 6/10.