Seventh Son

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler

I really love my fantasy films. This one has dragons AND females with crimped hair. That's probably the two most important ingredients.

This film seems to delight in presenting the most archetypal hero's journey. It hits all the beats without much finesse but even going through the motions like that, there's a sense of glee I get at the recognition of blatant use of tropes.

And this one gets some great actors to say some very ludicrous dialogue in the most serious manner possible which is just a delight in itself. The Big Lebowski reunion that no-one would have expected. Jeff Bridges seems determined to be as unintelligible as possible and Julianne Moore relishes the hammy villainess. Glorious and terrible. Olivia Williams has a nice little part that I desperately wish was expanded a great deal more because the story they hint at is probably more interesting that the main plot. Ben Barnes does what he can playing the young male and slightly British lead that we see in every fantasy film.

And in truth, the first part of the film was exceedingly enjoyable, such promise of adventure and fun and a sense that they went balls to the wall with the ridiculous fantasy elements. Sadly the latter half of the film couldn't deliver the same pace and energy. The elements are there but are muted and never as grand as you'd hope, as is so often the case with modern fantasy films. Our hero's trials are never punishing enough to feel like he earns the power he receives and his training montage is pretty much skipped over so it all just feels inevitable and lazy.

Surprisingly, I didn't hate the romance element. It's not great, but at least it's not as half assed as the rest of the mythology surrounding the characters.

The biggest saviour here though has to be Marco Beltrami's score, that's determined to make you enjoy the film despite what it's showing you. That score deserves a much bigger and adventurous film. Wonderful.

The 3D is post converted and it really shows at a few moments. Most of it is passable though.

If you really REALLY love your fantasy and go into this one expecting the worst, as I did, you might be pleasantly surprised that it's not as bad as you thought it would be. There were plenty of moments I had a blast. But sadly, this film will also fade into the lexicon of average and ultimately forgettable modern fantasy films.