Review of Seventh Son (2014) by Kaleb K — 11 Feb 2015

Generic is not bad. In fact, fantasy stories pretty much boil down to the same tropes and plot points. In these instances you would find some interesting writing, new visual effects, a standout performance or a combination of the former to keep the audience engaged. The Lord of the Rings movies are probably the standout example of how you handle fantasy tropes, especially considering Tolkein is considered the father of the fantasy genre we see today. Even TV shows like Merlin and The Legend of the Seeker were good examples of taking established tropes and stories and giving them their own flare.

Seventh Son though is generic to a boring fault. The writing is boring, the visual effects we have seen a thousand times over, and there is not one performance worth giving a damn. Jeff Bridges' character is obviously that performance, but his accent is just so heavy it takes other characters to translate what he is saying.

I found out the movie is based on a set of MUCH better received books and it obviously shows. There are characters that come and go and lore that is read off like cliff notes. This would have made for an excellent set of movies, a tv show, or even a video game had the studio and producers cared enough about it.

Maybe someone can salvage what is admittedly interesting material, but for now, Seventh Son is not so lucky.