By: Robert Murphy
Medieval style science fiction has always been a favorite genre of mine over the years, knights fighting dragons and the like so whenever I see a movie like Seventh Son my interests immediately get peeked. The story follows Master Gregory (Jeff Bridges) who is a spook, a person who deals with evil wherever it may appear and either eliminate it or contend with it and sending it on it's way because hey, not all mythical creatures deserve to be destroyed. Although over the years it would appear that this spook has become hardened to that sentiment when it comes to witches, one which in particular he thought he put to bed. Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore) has return and wishes to use the power of the upcoming blood moon to bring darkness throughout the land but not before killing Gregory's apprentice and giving him a good shake up. Enter Thomas Ward (Ben Barnes), the seventh son of a farming family and is now the latest apprentice to presumably the last of the spooks. The two set out to destroy Mother Malkin before the arrival of the blood moon and her casting the land into a darkness that a hundred years ago almost destroyed the world.
The problem with movies like this, again I said I liked them but they're not without their flaws. Everything plays out in a typical fashion for the story with the elderly but not feeble Master Gregory continuing his fight against evil and also drinking away the pain of years gone by, friends lost, etc. This is until Mother Malkin comes back, breaking free of her imprisonment that, surprise surprise, Master Gregory placed her in when he was a much younger and arrogant man. The two have a history together that I won't spoil too much more about but it's left the evil Malkin still wanting Gregory and Gregory with a fiery rage for killing witches first and asking no questions later. His new apprentice seems to be following in his footsteps pretty closely as well but unlike Gregory, Thomas is not yet hardened by years of fighting and loss so fighting some of the creatures is much harder on him when they turn back to human form or appear human and innocent. It's not a bad set up but it is a predictable one to say the least which left me with an "it's okay" type of feeling while I watched.
Something can be said though for some of the amazing visuals and creatures that inhabit this world, while brief, the fights between Mother Malkin and her army are pretty fantastic but again, they're brief. Mother Malkin and most of her generals can either shape shift or already appear to be quite menacing, her four armed master swordsman general for instance is quite a looker with a blue body and creepy smile on his face as he slashes enemies. Everything in the world just pops out and inspires, a particularly enjoyable moment was the fight between a giant creature that is known as a Boggart and springs from the ground underneath Gregory and Tom's carriage. He is a giant creature that is clearly lives mainly under the Earth as you see vines and growth all over it's body, it's beautifully designed to say the least and fighting seems to not be an option in most cases. This on top of many other monster special affects lead to some of the better aspects for Seventh Son.
The other aspect that will keep your spirits up is some of the acting and actors for the movie. Veterans actors, Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore make excellent lead material for Seventh Son. Bridges plays a delightfully smart mouthed character who teaches Tom the ropes of monster hunting while he laughs and drinks the day away. In the scene with the Boggart, he is found off shore meditating in front of a small fire after leaving Tom to fight the creature by himself. Another moment is when he is listing off tools of the trade and hands him a flask that to Tom's senses wreaks but Gregory takes a big swig and refers to it as a "cure for cowardliness." While Moore on the opposite end of things plays the fierce Mother Malkin who can transform into a dragon and doesn't hesitate to dole out punishment wherever she sees fit. It is a role that she pulls off well surprisingly and she looks fantastic doing it as well.
Overall, I said that my feelings for Seventh Son were of an "okay" nature and by the end of it those feelings don't change too much. Jeff Bridges creates a charming character with his goofy sayings and antics and that's where the whole appeal for the movie really comes from, it's goofiness. An off handed joke about one of the creatures in the world only being a level 6 in particular had me at a chuckle for the Dungeons and Dragons style referrance. There's also the fantastic creatures that inhabit the world, the transformations and appearance for many of the monsters are phenominal. If not for the somewhat overdone plot style of Seventh Son, things could have been knocked up a few more notches.
Something can be said though for some of the amazing visuals and creatures that inhabit this world, while brief, the fights between Mother Malkin and her army are pretty fantastic but again, they're brief. Mother Malkin and most of her generals can either shape shift or already appear to be quite menacing, her four armed master swordsman general for instance is quite a looker with a blue body and creepy smile on his face as he slashes enemies. Everything in the world just pops out and inspires, a particularly enjoyable moment was the fight between a giant creature that is known as a Boggart and springs from the ground underneath Gregory and Tom's carriage. He is a giant creature that is clearly lives mainly under the Earth as you see vines and growth all over it's body, it's beautifully designed to say the least and fighting seems to not be an option in most cases. This on top of many other monster special affects lead to some of the better aspects for Seventh Son.
The other aspect that will keep your spirits up is some of the acting and actors for the movie. Veterans actors, Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore make excellent lead material for Seventh Son. Bridges plays a delightfully smart mouthed character who teaches Tom the ropes of monster hunting while he laughs and drinks the day away. In the scene with the Boggart, he is found off shore meditating in front of a small fire after leaving Tom to fight the creature by himself. Another moment is when he is listing off tools of the trade and hands him a flask that to Tom's senses wreaks but Gregory takes a big swig and refers to it as a "cure for cowardliness." While Moore on the opposite end of things plays the fierce Mother Malkin who can transform into a dragon and doesn't hesitate to dole out punishment wherever she sees fit. It is a role that she pulls off well surprisingly and she looks fantastic doing it as well.
Overall, I said that my feelings for Seventh Son were of an "okay" nature and by the end of it those feelings don't change too much. Jeff Bridges creates a charming character with his goofy sayings and antics and that's where the whole appeal for the movie really comes from, it's goofiness. An off handed joke about one of the creatures in the world only being a level 6 in particular had me at a chuckle for the Dungeons and Dragons style referrance. There's also the fantastic creatures that inhabit the world, the transformations and appearance for many of the monsters are phenominal. If not for the somewhat overdone plot style of Seventh Son, things could have been knocked up a few more notches.
Good:
- Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore's characters were both well done lead roles
- The environments and creatures that inhabit the world
- Fantastic fight scenes
Bad:
- A predictable plot line
- Thomas isn't that well done of a character, along with other left out actors/actresses
Scully Rating: 5.0 out of 10
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