The output of this picture was repeatedly delayed, and the shooting was completed three years ago. The interest in it is understandable for a number of reasons - a fantasy orientation based on the novel of the same name, an entire galaxy of the first stars of Hollywood, the name of Sergei Bodrov Sr. as the director. The theme of our article will be the American blockbuster “The Seventh Son”: reviews, storyline, interesting facts and much more.
At the heart of the basics
The idea of ​​adapting the successful work of Delaney Joseph belongs to a team of screenwriters who are not new to the country of dreams. What motivated them to create a picture with an impressive budget?
“The Witcher Apprentice” talks about Tom Ward. His mentor, John Gregory, teaches a 12-year-old boy how to deal with ancient evil. The main feature of the plot is that it is Tom, who does not suspect anything and does not feel himself able to provide decent resistance, acts as the seventh son. Very quickly, a teenager will learn to see ghosts and communicate with spirits.
The film Seventh son is designed in the same style, but has distinctive features from the book source.
Grand on-screen incarnation
The Adventures of Tom includes 13 stand-alone books. All of them are part of the Wardstone cycle. In our country, only the first parts are published. The film “The Seventh Son” is the only film adaptation so far. Its production started at the beginning, and ended in the fall of 2012. The plot of the picture is full of various kinds of mythical creatures, demons, sorcerers, and therefore is replete with many special effects. To implement such a large-scale idea, film studios allocated a budget of $ 95 million. Fees recouped costs, but did not bring the expected profit. In part, this served as the basis for leaving plans for the film adaptation of the remaining parts of the cycle “The Seventh Son”. The reviews of the audience and the conclusions of critics played a decisive role in this. We will dwell on them a bit later.
Work without a language barrier
In the meantime, let's talk about working on the picture. This is not the first time Sergey Bodrov Sr. has taken on complex projects. Behind his shoulders are several top cinematic awards, including nominations for the Golden Globe and Oscar. For a long time the press was not aware that it was Sergei Vladimirovich who would direct the future picture of such a scale. Films of Sergei Bodrov Sr., including "The Caucasian Captive" and "Mongol", were shown in several foreign countries. His name causes pride not only within our country. Many foreign filmmakers treat him with a great deal of respect. Despite the remoteness of countries and continents, Bodrov Sr. accepted the proposal to move to sunny California for six months. Filming of "The Seventh Son" was also held in Canada. Sergei Vladimirovich, who knows English, did not experience difficulties in communicating with the film crew and actors.
The long-awaited rental
Warner Bros., which laid a colossal budget, could not forget about her brainchild, despite the conflicts that arose with her partner Legendary Pictures. All this led to a protracted post-production of the picture, and the “Seventh son” (Seventh son) migrated into the possession of Universal. Having bought the film, the studio postponed the release until 2015. It is noteworthy that our country saw the picture on New Year's holidays, which allowed us to collect the box office on the first weekend, equal to 140 million rubles. In America, the film was released a month later.
Execution cannot be pardoned: first opinions
The premiere of the film was marked by loud announcements of the “high-budget blockbuster” from the Russian director, shouting about inevitable success. But is it really so? What did the “Seventh Son” appear in the end?
The reviews of the viewers were divided in half, and this is not surprising. Some wanted to see with their own eyes the facts that testify about the money spent in vain, others managed a beautiful picture and an intriguing (if not original) plot. The uncomplicated story of the seventh son, verified by a century-old dynasty, combined with the witcher mentor and his typical "witchcraft" little things like magic amulets immediately led to believe in a reference fantasy, which was complemented by bright colors of picturesque landscapes. Inquisitive spectators caught the skill of Bodrov Sr. in certain details: looks, underlined hand movements, camera angles, pauses, camera turns, decorations and props.
Characters and actors: from living to mythical creatures
The magical component is combined with magnificent medieval architecture that takes the viewer into a fantasy world. To say more - they have saturated the entire “Seventh Son”. The actors, along with the mass of supporting characters, without whom the plot would not reflect their color, did an excellent job. Olivia Williams, who played the mother of the protagonist, unexpectedly runs to the other side, and the leader of the killer squad, Jimon Hons, is hard to recognize in a mask. Along with “living” people, “The Seventh Son” includes magical creatures of every color and caliber, which once again confirms the fantasy orientation of the picture. The kit included the main protagonist, full of bright feeling, a dragon mother, werewolves. In a word, even the most sophisticated viewer will be able to choose a favorite.
The main persons oblige
Well, if the studio waved to adapt the adaptation of the science fiction novel on such a scale, the appearance of stars of the first magnitude is predictable. Big names are designed to attract viewers. Jeff Bridges, who played Masters Gregory, boasts an impressive filmography. During his life, he embodied many different images. “The Seventh Son” has become for some reason a sort of outlet in his declining years. Audience reviews often identified him with the aged knight Wolfhound, still struggling with evil on a global scale. The witcher devoted his whole life to his students, but the slogan of the film says that only the seventh son of the seventh son can cope with the main villain. Therefore, all previous students only added a headache to the widowed old man. Disheveled gray hair Jeff Bridges creates a confident image of a strong man with a firm hand and sharp tongue. His hero, sometimes addicted to alcohol, is difficult to perceive differently, and Master Gregory himself will seem a familiar character, based on the actor’s previous works.
Beauties of the screen: there is something to see
For the first time, viewers met Ben Barnes through the fantasy comedy Stardust. Behind her was another story - The Chronicles of Narnia, where he played Prince Caspian. The thriller “Dorian Gray” received the most gratitude. This was followed by multi-genre paintings in which Ben Barnes was pleased to play. “The Seventh Son” did not become his calling card, but definitely revealed the new facets of the actor.
According to him, he was surprised and at the same time pleased with the approval of his candidacy. Tom Ward, undoubtedly, is a character growing up, changing in the course of the development of the plot, therefore it was a great success to realize it on the screen. The audience said that Ben is not annoying at all, but pleasing to the eye. At first, he appears to be a clumsy teenager who is dressed in a torn sweater and other rustic-style clothes, and as he acquires magical abilities, Tom is trying with all his might to cope with overcoming visions and fainting. Barnes will reveal himself to the finale on the other hand, and his play as a whole remains worthy for this film.
Best witch
Mother Malkin, who received a slightly strange nickname, acts as the main antagonist-villain of the film. Julianne Moore admits that she had never played such heroines before. The majestic, frightening by her actions, sitting in prison, the witch carries a huge spectrum of negative energy, which she seeks to bring down on others. At the same time, reviews from the audience said that Mother Malkin felt sorry for them, because to some extent she was held hostage to circumstances. Of course, this is a bright fairy-tale character, characterized by charisma and depth.
Despite everything, Mother Malkin remains an evil heroine who will not forgive. There is no ambiguity in it, but because the game Moore was distinguished by a solid core, built by the actress. Particular recognition refers to the film crew, which endowed the actress with incredibly beautiful costumes and bright makeup. Julianne Moore herself, in an interview dedicated to the release of the film, admitted that she refers to cosmetics as an integral part of her appearance and uses it to the extent that it is required by the plot.
Worst side of the story
The responses of those viewers who did not like the picture complain about the incompleteness of many dialogs and scenes. Compared to the book, the story of Tom and his mentor is much deeper and more interesting. In the film, their confrontation with the powerful witch is limited to fragmentary episodes, forcing viewers to think out the scene. The film “The Seventh Son” presents heroes deprived of personal qualities: their behavior and characters are difficult to catch due to the lack of missing material. Instead, fights filled with special effects, which also do not reveal the fullness of the plot. There was a feeling that the characters were made of cardboard, their mission is to pick up a dagger or spear. They are absolutely not disclosed, but it does not seem to be set for the director.
It is still far from world standards ...
After the release of the picture, the name of the director sounds much more often than at other times. Critics are haunted by the fact that the Russian filmmaker took up a large-scale, Hollywood-inspired project called “The Seventh Son”. The director gives priority to the demonstration of computer technology, which, admittedly, must be in such a film. However, many other things, unfortunately, turn a blind eye. There is no corresponding atmosphere of narration and authenticity, breathtaking only from a beautiful picture. Visual effects add ugliness, completely depriving beauty and grace - it is worth looking at the tail of the main witch or the skin of a red dragon. And the thousands of fragments of ash drawn, scattered by the dying forces of darkness, send us to the beginning of the era of special effects. In “The Seventh Son” the “golden” principle of the balance of characters is clearly traced: if the positive always look beautiful, then the negative characters are represented by terrible monsters, such as the terrifying and implausible Fang.
Actors or characters?
“The Seventh Son”, according to many viewers and critics, left a feeling of disappointment. Fantasy movies are a mix of action, adventure and romance. This combination will always affect the viewer. To interest him, an impressive storyline is required. We all remember that modern paintings are becoming obsolete, it is becoming increasingly difficult for scriptwriters to come up with something new. But, as the remaining dissatisfied viewers note, “The Seventh Son” was able to dilute traditional predictability with non-standard moves, heroes, unexpected turns, despite the fact that the final picture was immediately obvious.
The positive qualities include the fact that the scriptwriters worked on a wide variety of characters, endowing them with the film “The Seventh Son”. Minor cast actors include Hollywood stars such as Alicia Wickander, Keith Harrington, Jason Scott Lee, Jimon Honsu, Antje Traue, John Desantis and others.
But, returning to the key characters, it should be noted that almost all of them are weak and strange. It is not at all typical that young Tom, who has just found out about his mission, does not try to resist. On the contrary, he is ready to rush into battle! And there seems to be nothing shameful about this, but in the midst of an important battle, he suddenly decides to change the course of the battle with the help of a truce between the warring parties. Alice's half-blood love line seems superfluous. Tom accepts her feelings without much enthusiasm. Certainly, their relationship lacks passion, an explosion, emotions. Mother Malkin is identified with the main villain. But the viewer does not know anything about her - why should she be considered a universal evil, which everyone around worships? Despite the fact that she is omnipotent and immortal, her death (which seemed “too simple” to many) does not fit in her head.
Do not judge strictly
Audience reviews and criticism may be different, and the picture - whether you like it or not. In order to express a personal opinion, you should personally see the film “The Seventh Son”. Reviews say that it can not be called unsuccessful. Perhaps the individual details are not worked out to the end, but this is definitely a strong movie. The task set is completed - it will carry you away, immerse you in the atmosphere of magic and sorcery, and will transfer you to the ancient times the eternal struggle between good and evil.