"The Seventh Son": reviews. The film was directed by Sergei Bodrov, Sr.

The output of this picture was repeatedly postponed, and the shooting was completed three years ago. Interest in it is understandable for a number of reasons - a fantasy focus, based on the novel of the same name, a whole galaxy of first stars of Hollywood, the name of Sergei Bodrov, Sr. as a director. The theme of our article will be the American blockbuster "The Seventh Son": reviews, a storyline, interesting facts and much more.

At the core of the

The idea of adaptation of the successful work of Dileyny Joseph belongs to a team of writers who are not new to the country of dreams. What motivated them to create a picture with an impressive budget?

"The Witcher's Apprentice" talks about Tom Ward. His mentor, John Gregory, teaches a 12-year-old boy how to fight the ancient evil. The main feature of the plot is that it is Tom, who does not suspect anything and does not feel himself capable of providing worthy resistance, acting as the seventh son. Very quickly a teenager will learn to see ghosts and communicate with spirits.

The film Seventh son is sustained in the same style, but has distinctive features from the book source.

A grandiose incarnation on the screen

The Adventures of Tom include 13 independent books. They all enter the Wardstone cycle. In our country only the first parts have been published. The film "The Seventh Son" is still the only film adaptation. Its production started at the beginning, and ended in the fall of 2012. The plot of the picture is saturated with various kinds of mythical creatures, demons, sorcerers, and therefore abounds with a variety of special effects. To implement such a large-scale idea, the film studio was given a budget of $ 95 million. The fees paid back the costs, but did not bring the expected profits. In part, this served as the basis for leaving the plans for the screening of the remaining parts of the cycle "The Seventh Son". Reviews of the audience and the opinions of critics played a decisive role in this. More on them we will stop later.

Work without a language barrier

In the meantime, let's talk about working on the picture. Sergei Bodrov, Sr. is not the first to take up complex projects. He has several top cinematographic awards, including nominations for "Golden Globe" and "Oscar." For a long time the press did not know that Sergey Vladimirovich would become the director of the future picture of such a scale. The films of Sergei Bodrov, Sr., including the "Caucasian Captive" and "Mongol", were shown in a number of foreign states. His name provokes 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 the elder accepted the proposal to move to half a year in sunny California. Filming "The Seventh Son" was also in Canada. Sergey Vladimirovich, who knows English, did not have any difficulties in communicating with the crew and actors.

Long-awaited rental

Warner Bros., which laid a colossal budget, could not forget about their offspring, despite the conflicts with their partner Legendary Pictures. All this led to a protracted post-production of the painting, and "The Seventh Son" (Seventh Son) migrated into the possession of Universal. After buying the film, the studio postponed the release until 2015. It is noteworthy that our country saw the picture in the New Year holidays, which allowed to collect cash in the first weekend, equal to 140 million rubles. In America, the film came out a month later.

Execute can not be pardoned: first opinions

The premiere of the film was marked by loud announcements of a "high-budget blockbuster" from a Russian director, shouting about imminent success. But is it really so? How did the "Seventh Son" finally appear?

Reviews of the audience were divided in half, and this is not surprising. Some wanted to see firsthand the facts that witnessed the money spent in vain, others treated a beautiful picture and an intriguing (albeit not original) story. Not a complicated story of the seventh son, reconciled by a century-old dynasty, combined with a witcher mentor and his typical "magical" things like magical amulets immediately made him believe in a standard fantasy, which was supplemented by bright paints of picturesque landscapes. Inquisitive spectators caught the skill of Bodrov the elder and in some small details: looks, stressed hand movements, camera angles, pauses, camera turns, scenery and props.

Characters and actors: from the living to the mythical creatures

The magical component is connected with the magnificent medieval architecture that carries the viewer into a fictional world. To say more - they imbued the whole "The Seventh Son". Actors, along with a mass of characters of the second plan, without which the plot did not reflect its color, excellently coped with the task. Olivia Williams, who played the mother of the protagonist, suddenly runs to the other side, and the leader of the detachment of assassins, Jimon Hons, is difficult to recognize in a mask. Along with the "living" people, "The Seventh Son" includes magical creatures of every color and caliber, which once again confirms the fantasy orientation of the picture. The main protagonist, full of light feeling, dragon-mother, werewolves entered the set. In a word, even the most sophisticated spectator can choose a pet.

Chief officials oblige

If the studio has threatened to adapt the adaptation of the fantastic novel with such a grand scale, the appearance of the first-magnitude stars is predictable. Loud names are meant to attract the audience. Jeff Bridges, who played Masters Gregory, boasts impressive filmography. During his life he embodied many different images. "The Seventh Son" was for something a sort of vent in the declining years. Audience reviews often identified him with an aged Wolfhound-knight, still struggling with evil on a world scale. All his life the witcher devoted himself to the disciples, but the slogan of the film says that only the seventh son of the seventh son will cope with the main villain. Therefore, all previous students only added to the widowed old man a headache. Disheveled gray hair Jeff Bridges creates a confident to the last image of a strong man with a firm hand and a sharp tongue. His hero, sometimes addicted to alcohol, is difficult to perceive differently, and Master Gregory himself seems familiar character, based on previous work of the actor.

Hands-free screen: there's something to see

For the first time the audience met with Ben Barnes, thanks to the fantasy comedy "Star Dust." Behind her was another story - The Chronicles of Narnia, where he played Prince Caspian. The greatest appreciation was received by the thriller "Dorian Gray". Next followed by different genre paintings, in which the pleasure was filmed by Ben Barnes. "The Seventh Son" did not become his calling card, but definitely revealed the new faces of the actor.

According to his confession, he was surprised and at the same time pleased with the approval of his candidacy. Tom Ward, undoubtedly - a character growing up, changing in the course of the development of the plot, so embodying it on the screen was a great success. The audience said that Ben does not bother at all, but pleases the eye. At first, he appears to be an awkward teenager, who is dressed in a torn sweater and other rustic clothes, and as he gains magical powers, Tom struggles to cope with his vision and fainting. Barnes will reveal himself to the finale on the other side, and her game as a whole remains worthy for this film.

The Best Witch

Mother Malkin, who received a slightly strange nickname, is the main antagonist-villain of the film. Julianne Moore admits that she had never played such heroines before. Majestic, scary by its actions, the witch who has spent time in captivity bears a huge spectrum of negative energy, which she seeks to bring down on those around her. At the same time, the viewers' comments indicated that Mother Malkin felt sorry for them, because to some extent she was a hostage of circumstances. Of course, this is a bright fairy-tale character, distinguished by charisma and depth.

Despite everything, Mother Malkin remains an evil heroine who will not forgive. In it there is no ambiguity, but because Moore's game was distinguished by a solid core, built by the actress. Particular recognition belongs to the film crew, who gave the actress incredibly beautiful costumes and bright make-up. Julianne Moore herself in an interview, timed to the release of the film, admitted that it refers to cosmetics as an integral part of the external appearance and uses it to the extent that it is required by the plot.

The worst sides of history

The responses of those viewers who did not like the picture, complain about the incompleteness of many dialogues and scenes. Compared with the book, the story of Tom and his mentor is much deeper and more interesting. In the film, their confrontation with a powerful witch is limited to scrappy episodes, forcing viewers to think out the scene. The film "The Seventh Son" represents the heroes, deprived of personal qualities: their behavior and characters are difficult to grasp for the lack of missing material. Instead, they are full of special effects fights, which also do not reveal the fullness of the plot. It was felt that the characters are created from cardboard, their mission is reduced to the need to pick up a dagger or a spear. They are absolutely not disclosed, but it does not seem to be the task of the director.

The world standards are still far away ...

After the release of the picture, the director's name sounds much more often than at another time. Critics are not disturbed by the fact that the Russian cinematographer took up a large-scale project, created by Hollywood stamps, called "The Seventh Son". The director gives high priority to the demonstration of computer technologies, which, it should be admitted, must be in a similar film. However, many other things, unfortunately, turn a blind eye. There is no corresponding atmosphere of narration and authenticity, the spirit captures 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. A painted thousands of fragments of ash, scattered by the dying forces of darkness, and send us at the beginning of the era of special effects. In "The Seventh Son," the "golden" principle of character balance is clearly discernible: if the positive always look beautiful, then the negative heroes are represented by eerie monsters, such as the horrifying and implausible Fang.

Actors or characters?

"The Seventh Son," according to many viewers and critics, left a sense of disappointment. Fantasy movies - a mixture of action, adventure and melodrama. Such a combination will always act on the viewer. To interest him, you need an impressive story. All of us remember that modern pictures are getting rid of themselves, writers find it more difficult to invent something new. But, as the spectators remain dissatisfied with, "The Seventh Son" was able to dilute the traditional predictability of non-standard moves, heroes, unexpected turns, while the final picture was immediately apparent.

To the positive qualities can be attributed the fact that the writers have worked many different characters, giving them the film "The Seventh Son." Actors who performed secondary images include such Hollywood stars as Alicia Wickander, Keith Harrington, Jason Scott Lee, Jimon Hons, Antje Thrau, 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 how young Tom, who has just learned 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 truce of the warring sides. The love line with the half-breed Alice seems superfluous. Tom accepts her feelings with little enthusiasm. Certainly, their relationship lacks passion, explosion, emotions. Mother Malkin is identified with the main villain. But the viewer knows nothing about it - why should it be considered a universal evil, which everyone worships around? While she is all-powerful and immortal, her death (which seemed to many "too simple") does not fit into the head.

Do not judge strictly

Spectator reviews and criticism may be different, and the picture - equally like it or not. In order to express personal opinion, you should personally see the film "The Seventh Son". Reviews say that it can not be called unsuccessful. Perhaps, some details are not worked out to the end, but this is definitely a strong movie. The task is completed - it will enthrall you, immerse in an atmosphere of magic and magic, will carry in the distant ages of the eternal struggle between good and evil.