Every once in a while we get an oddball movie out of Hollywood. When a studio tries to make a fast-paced epic high fantasy movie with big names attached to it like Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore. The movie was a complete flop. As a fledging writer, I could spot a dozen reasons why it didn’t work. Which is what I’m going to explain below…
Why It Flopped
The plot was rushed. It had some awful dialogue for the more serious scenes and a lot of the story was based on convenience. Also, Jeff Bridges’ bad accent didn’t help either (though, despite this, he was my favourite character.) The movie just felt like it tried to do too many things in the short time it had. So, it only got as far as touching base with each thread it tried to weave.
There was also a romance I find quite funny. So, Ben Barnes and Alicia Vikander’s characters have this love affair going on, which feels so blatantly forced and random. The funny part is that it seems the writers knew this, so their matching was alluded to be destiny!
That’s how it works, if you can’t explain the reasoning behind the path your character winds up on, then write it off as destiny or fate. So I’ve gone over why I think this movie flopped… but haven’t explained why I like it despite all of its flaws.
Why Do I Like It?
Because it’s fun! Jeff Bridges as an old, grumpy monster hunter, the ever so lovely Julianne Moore as a wicked witch? The world and lore was crafted quite well and the film had really enjoyable action sequences. Though the movie wasn’t cheap, it was cheerful, so does that count as a cheap and cheerful movie? I’m not sure.
It is really easy to get into. It made me think of the Witcher to an extent. Mostly because of the whole witch hunter/monster slayer trope.
Seventh Son won’t blow your mind but it might give you an enjoyable experience when you’re bored on a Sunday afternoon. It is currently on Netflix if you’re interested.
