Seventh Son, Review: Father Gregory v/s Mother Malkin

Released two years after the first announced date, the witch-ghost-ghast-ghoul-spook-troll-warlock film fails to scare or absorb.

Seventh Son is based on The Spook’s Apprentice, which is the first book in Joseph Delaney’s Wardstone Chronicles Series. In a time of enchantments when legends and magic collide, the sole remaining warrior of a mystical order, a ‘spook’ called John Gregory, travels to find a prophesied partner born with incredible powers, the last Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, just like him, named Tom Ward.  Torn from his quiet life as a farm-hand, the unlikely young hero finds himself setting off on a daring adventure with his battle-hardened father-figure to vanquish Mother Malkin, a dark witch and the army of supernatural assassins she keeps despatching against his country folk. One of Mother Malkin’s lieutenants is Radu, the warlock, who has the ability to morph into a dragon and another is Urag, a Siberian warlock who terrorises Tom and Master Gregory in the form of a gigantic grizzly bear. Also in the picture are Tusk, who stands at 2.06m, a troll-like creature and Master Gregory’s loyal fighting companion, and Alice, who is a half-witch torn between her love for Tom and the terror that Mother strikes in her and her mother, Malkin’s sister.

Matt Greenberg adapted the story while the screenplay was written by Charles Leavitt and Steven Knight. Sergey Bodrov (Fool's Game, A Yakuza's Daughter Never Cries, 42 One Dream Rush, Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan) has directed this screen version. When you read the synopsis, the plot appears interesting. Once the pictures start flashing on the screen, never mind the 3D, the grey tones do not add up to much. For almost half the film, the protagonist appears to be old man Gregory, and though he trains Tom in the art of fighting witches, Tom remains a weak under-study. Tom’s apparitions too seem to be pointless. His falling for Alice at first sight is contrived, as is the manner in which she nonchalantly walks towards her impending doom and the ease with which Tom and she fall in love. There is a scene in which she is shown swimming (wading, really) and I am willing to wager the Indian censors insisted that she should remain underwater as long as she was not wearing anything. Seeing her in the buff would have been some reason for Tom to find his heart aflutter, especially if she had a well-proportioned body.

Almost every witch or ghost or ghast (no, not aghast, just ghast) or ghoul suddenly turns into a dragon, and it gets tiresome after a while. There are too many unnecessary diversions before the showdown, and when that happens, it is rather one-sided. No, not one-sided as….well, let me refrain from dropping a spoiler. Tusk is an interesting creature and the earth-quaking introduction of Urag does give a few jolts. In the same sequence, the falling off of the three protagonists from a steep cliff and their subsequent survival should have had viewers on tenterhooks. It doesn’t. Sometimes it does appear that there is enough meat in the story to cook up a nice dish. Without the secret recipe, and fine-tuned balancing, however, it tastes bland.

Jeff Bridges (Iron Man, Crazy Heart, Tron: Legacy, True Grit) has the face (made-up, of course) and body for the part of Gregory. He adds a little quirk in the shape of a toothless speech and delivers a workman-like portrayal. In the context, his over-confidence appears misplaced. Julianne Moore (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, Hannibal, Magnolia, Psycho, The Big Lebowski, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, The Fugitive) as Malkin looks considerably younger than Bridges and performs well. (Incidentally, Malkin means Mistress in Urdu/Hindi/Arabic). Ben Barnes (Stardust, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The Voyage of Dawn Treader) as Tom Ward is less convincing and the script only allows him to get underneath the role in the later stages. Perhaps the fact that he was a replacement for an earlier casting has something to do with it. Alicia Vikander (Anna Karenina, The Fifth Estate) plays Alice Deane, looking soft vulnerable. A word about the Swedish actress: Her mother is the stage actress Maria Fahl Vikander, her father is a psychiatrist. Theatre has always been a part of her life. When her parents couldn't find a babysitter, she slept in the wings. When she was nine, she enrolled in ballet school. Vikander had spent nine years training to become a ballet-dancer when she sneaked out to audition for a role in En Decemberdröm, a TV series directed by Tomas Alfredson (of Let the Right One In and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy fame). Alfredson gave her the role – and she abandoned her dreams of becoming a prima ballerina.

Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) as Billy Bradley, Olivia Williams (Hanna) as Mam, Antje Traue (Superman reboot) as Bony Lizzie, Djimon Hounsou as Radu, an original character not found in Delaney's novel and John De Santis as the 2.06m Tusk provide adequate support. Hounsou is menacing.

Visual effects house Rhythm and Hues Studios had gone bankrupt during the production of this film, and it was through the funds provided by Legendary Pictures that they managed to complete it. VFX are good, without being distinguished. Transitions into other shapes are instantaneous but very similar every time they occur. Ditto 3D. A few shots make you react and move your head backwards, but for the rest, it is business as usual. A. R. Rahman and Tuomas Kantelinen were to compose the music. In the end, it was Marco Beltrami who did the score. It was okay while the film was on. Outside the theatre, music was not ringing in the ears.

(Tongue in cheek: Wonder how the film will be perceived in India, which had a strict 2-3 child policy in the mid-70s and still denies some privileges to families that have more than two children, and China, where a one-child policy was strictly enforced all through the cultural revolution. Imagine looking for the seventh son of a seventh son in these parts of the world!)

Rating: **

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixy38OfsdA8&src_vid=F4zX--5Ils8&feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_3876304825