Seventh Son MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +2 Content: +2

Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore, Jeff Bridges, Djimon Hounsou, Olivia Williams, Alicia Vikander. Action/adventure/fantasy. Directed by Sergey Bodrov.

FILM SYNOPSIS: Young Thomas is apprenticed by a “Spook” (a warrior who hunts and destroys witches) and soon finds himself battling powerful Mother Malkin, the queen of witches, as well as all her hobgoblin bad guys.

PREVIEW REVIEW: Seventh Son is a good title, but the film is a weak property that Legendary Pictures got stuck with and Universal decided to distribute. Laden with CGI and 3D visuals, its medieval action fills out the 102 minute length, but it’s not really a very good action fantasy. Despite the movie-making trickery, the battles are badly executed (so to speak) and the leads and the premise are one-dimensional. Jeff Bridges as Master Gregory (the Spook) chooses an iffy acting choice by growling out his nearly incomprehensible dialogue, making his version of growling Rooster Cogburn sound downright Professor Henry Higgins-ish. And Ben Barnes as the apprentice gets by on youth (charisma would be nice, but for this video game of a movie, youth is enough).

The big names must have been paid a great deal of money upon agreement for their participation in this mess, because there’s very little for them to do and with their shallow characterizations we’re wishing for another Harry Potter installment (and I never thought I’d say that).

Though we are not always looking for heavy subject matter intertwined with our fantasy/adventure, this February flop lacks any true energy or wit. It just ticks off time.

Some may be intrigued with the battles against the demonic-looking monsters, but frankly, I found the flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz were more unsettling.

That said, it’s not an awful movie. (Now, there’s the quote I’m sure studio publicists are looking for.)

Preview Reviewer: Phil Boatwright
Distributor: Universal Pictures