Seventh Son Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Seventh Son Blu-ray Movie Review

Fantasy by numbers.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 23, 2015

Call it "jaded reviewer syndrome" or "genre fatigue" or simply call the picture trite, but whatever the reason it's hard to get behind a movie like Seventh Son, a film based on Author Joseph Delaney's book The Spook's Apprentice. The film adaptation is admittedly well made in all the right ways -- it's a skillful work from Director Sergei Bodrov -- but it's otherwise a black hole of storytelling, a movie with nothing to offer that hasn't been done before, sometimes better, sometimes worse, but seen plenty of times down that same straight path called "Fantasy Convention." The story feels wholly inconsequential, its basics gobbled up by its trite run through the genre checklist: a great journey, an aging warrior, a young apprentice, an ancient evil, a powerful talisman, and various adventures in clearly demarcated natural arenas stocked with numerous beasts of all shapes and sizes trying to stop the adventurers at all cost. It works well enough as basic entertainment and the movie is far from an abomination, but there's nary a thread of creativity in it, favoring the easy way through the basics and eschewing the darker, trickier presentation of more creative ideas and a more richly novel tale.

Master Gregory (Jeff Bridges) is a "Spook" -- a noble defender against dark powers -- and he's managed to imprison a powerful witch by the name of Malkin (Julianne Moore) in a seemingly inescapable cell. But, years later, when a rare blood moon rises, Malkin regains her strength and frees herself from captivity. An aged Gregory is reluctantly called back into duty to confront her. His apprentice is killed in the chaos and she escapes. Gregory is now tasked with tracking down a replacement apprentice and he finds one in Tom (Ben Barnes), the seventh son of a seventh son who has previously seen visions of Gregory. Before he begins his training and embarks on his quest, his mother (Olivia Williams) gifts him a sacred talisman of incredible power. Now, he and Gregory must confront one of the most dangerous evils the world has ever seen on a journey that promises deadly consequences should they fail.

Where the movie lacks in creativity, it makes up for in spirit and special effects. There's a big, sweeping, epic cinematic flavor to the movie. Seventh Son plays with a good sense of know-how behind the camera and a gloriously realized world in front. It seems unapologetic as it races through cliché towards its predictably inevitable conclusion, doing so with commendable visual and aural efficiency as it develops the plot and characters and maneuvers towards, and through, its basic motifs. But the world around it all feels expansive and lived-in, complete and never wanting for just a little bit more of a push to put it over the top. The visual thoroughness certainly helps to sell the movie and does a decent enough job of covering up the ridiculously straightforward story to the point that, if nothing else, the movie proves baseline entertaining. Various battle scenes and large scope grand adventure bits are spot-on and the digital effects, while not quite good enough to fully sell the illusion, are some of the better the Fantasy arena has seen. There's a very real, tangible sense of scope and size to the digital effects and a commendable realism in the way humans interact with them. Seventh Son gets far more right than wrong in terms of its support pieces, but there are sill a few chinks in its armor beyond the bland story details.

Perhaps the biggest drawback beyond the crude simplicity of the plot are lead performances. Both Julianne Moore and Jeff Bridges seem disinterested in the film, probably because they recognize it as filler with no aspirations beyond, but there's a flatness to both performances at best and a sly hamminess to them at worst. Neither one injects much life into the characters beyond basic qualities that are less descriptive and more emotive; their characters seem built on look and cadence more so than inward depth. In fact, Bridges plays, essentially, the same character from another recent book-turned-film starring him, The Giver. Obvious time and place differences aside, Bridges in both films plays an aged man of some importance to the community who is charged with finding and training a replacement who can help him save a world in peril, both at the hands of powerful female figures. Ben Barnes, himself no stranger to the Fantasy genre considering his parts in the Narnia sequels Prince Caspian and Voyage of the Dawn Treader, is the film's best acting asset, not appearing so bored or reliant on excess as his counterparts but doing what he can to flesh out a stock zero-to-hero character by giving the part a bit more seriousness and thoroughness that fits in with the world around him.

Seventh Son Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Seventh Son was shot digitally, but the image is so good it could easily pass for film. Textural details are fantastic. Even as the movie largely favors a nondescript color palette -- grays, blacks, blues, and earthy hues -- it manages to provide an incredible amount of raw detail in its blend of darker elements, with costumes in particular revealing not only all of the basic adornments but fine little instances of wear, pinpoint finishing touches, creases, dents, and other bits. Woods, bricks, stone, vegetation, and other environmental elements are complexly and intricately displayed, as are faces that often show pores, sweat, accumulated grime, and stubble and beards. Image clarity is exceptional throughout, with only a few darker, warmer shots appearing mildly flat. Bright skies tend to appear blown out, too. Color saturation is excellent; all of the earthy and dark shades shine, and even the relative absence of a bright, rainbow-like palette doesn't keep the film's toned-down and dark look from impressing. Skin tones and black levels present no problems. Banding, blocking, and other eyesores are nonexistent. Minor noise appears in a couple of shots. On the whole, this is a great, and occasionally breathtaking, image from Universal.

Seventh Son Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Seventh Son features a reference grade DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack. Universal's presentation excels in every way, bombarding the stage with effective surround, penetrating bass, and precision detail. The track never shies away from utilizing the back channels, both the far left and right speakers and the added back middle alike. Fine immersive details spring from every one of them, whether general village din (including a terrific reproduction of the the sound of a blacksmith hammering away on an item that rings out through the back), rolling thunder, swooping creatures, and general natural atmospherics. The stage is consistently alive with little bits of environment delights, and the track doesn't stop there. Music, too, envelops the listener with a completely immersive, encircling sensation. Clarity is tight and supportive bass is deep and balanced. Action scenes are beautifully chaotic and engulf the listener in a symphony of medieval and magical mayhem. Dialogue is well prioritized and flows naturally from the center, rounding a perfect track into memorable form.

Seventh Son Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Seventh Son contains several extras, notably a collection of deleted/extended scenes and a few featurettes. Inside the Blu-ray case, buyers will find a DVD copy of the film as well as a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy.

• Alternate Ending (1080p, 1:16).
• Deleted/Alternate Scenes (1080p): Prison Escape (2:50), Grave Robbers Release Malkin (0:57), Tavern with Tusk (0:54), Original Old Greg Intro (2:22), Outside Church -- Alternate (0:28), A Toast to William Bradley (2:12), Dinner Scene -- Alternate (1:25), Woods Walk -- Without Church (1:34), Woods Walk -- Without Tom Fainting (2:32), Lakeside Sword Training (1:28), Radu Hits on Malkin (0:59), Graveyard Monologue -- Alternate (4:54), Inquisitor Death -- Alternate (1:30), Hangman Hill -- Alternate (0:56), and Malkin Pyre/Mountain Explosion -- Alternate (1:58).
• The Making of Seventh Son (1080p): A three-part feature. Defenders of Good (9:06) offers a closer look at the heroes, including Bridges' and Barnes' performances and qualities they brought to their characters. Also examined are wardrobe, weapons, and props. It also looks at the characters played by Olivia Williams, Alicia Vikander, and John DeSantis. Resurrecting the Wicked (8:54) offers much of the same, this time focusing on villains, both character development and the actors who played the parts, including, in primary roles, Julianne Moore, Antje Traue, and Djimon Hounsou. Finally, Forging a Medieval Realm (7:03) shares a brief overview of the film's visual excellence, focusing primarily on set design and a few props.
• The Legend and Lore of The Seventh Son (1080p, 3:33): This brief supplement looks at some of the real-life lore of the "seventh son."
• Visual Effects Gallery (1080p): A look at visual effects construction and progression for several scenes, including Bradley's Demise (0:32), Pendle Battle (1:01), Boggart Chase (1:01), and Boldmere Fight (0:55).

Seventh Son Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Seventh Son works well enough as basic filmed Fantasy entertainment. It's hopelessly trite but it seems content nevertheless, taking itself rather seriously but never so much so that it loses its raw entertainment value. If one can look beyond the miles and miles of tropes, there's a familiar yet comfortable ride for the dedicated genre fan. Performances from its two biggest names aren't great, but the positive sense of rich setting helps sell the illusion. Universal's Blu-ray release of Seventh Son features outstanding video and audio. Supplements are of good quantity and quality. Definitely worth a rental and fans can buy with confidence.