So apparently there is an “acclaimed series” (of what? books? comics? a TV show?) but instead of telling that good-stuff story, this movie is merely stealing some ideas from it– er, was “inspired by” it.
This does not bode well.
Nor does this trailer. A bunch of monsters and dragons and witches and mystical mumbo-jumbo, some random fighting and kissing, and that’s meant to get us excited? When we can see anything at all that is, the trailer is so damn dark. I cannot distinguish this movie from the other medieval monster stories we’ve gotten recently (Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Season of the Witch)… and none of them have been any good.
Unfortunately, I don’t have time to watch the trailer (even though you make it sound sooooo enticing!) at the mo’, but, hey, generic idea about magic? Seventh Son? From that screenwriting instruction book…paging Dr. J. Campbell.
Now the fifth daughter on the twelfth night,
Told the first father that things weren’t right
“My complexion”, she said, “is much too white”
He said “come here and step into the light” he says “hmm, you’re right.
Let me tell second mother this has been done.”
But, the second mother was with the seventh son
And they were both out on Highway 61.
Orson Scott Card wrote a book I enjoyed by the same name (first of a series), but this bears scant resemblance.
that was the first thing i thought of, but you’re right, this has no resemblance even in passing to that book.
Apparently, it’s based on a book series called THE WARDSTONE CHRONICLES, no books of which are called SEVENTH SON, making that text even MORE vague! http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wardstone_Chronicles
It just looks generic as hell. It was originally supposed to hit theaters October 18… but in hindsight the move to mid-January is better.
None of the earlier films you mention feature Jeff Bridges pretending to be Sean Connery, do they? (That IS what he’s doing, isn’t it?)
I look forward to the sequel: SEVENTH SON 2: THE EIGHTH SON RETURNS AGAIN FOR REVENGE!!!
Seriously, Julianne Moore looks like she’s having a whale of a time in this – and there are some other fun people in it as well. It’s a shame nobody seems to know what to do with this sort of story any more. :(
It kind of seems like Jeff Bridges has decided to play Rooster Cogburn in every movie he makes from now on, regardless of whether it makes any sense or not.
Except Tron:Legacy where he played Obi-Wan Lebowski.
What with this and R.I.P.D., is Jeff Bridges this year’s Nicolas Cage? (Except he’s getting on a bit for the action stuff, so they have to give him a bland pretty-boy sidekick.)
There might be a neat bit of subtext here about how “woman who doesn’t act like property” = “witch”, but somehow I doubt it.
The source appears to be a YA book series by Joseph Delaney, The Wardstone Chronicles, starting with The Spook’s Apprentice (US vt Revenge of the Witch) (2004).