The Seeker
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Movie Reviews of The Seeker
Movie Review: Average Fantasy Yarn But a Very Poor Adaptation
Summary: 3 Stars
THE SEEKER revolves around an American boy named Will Stanton (Alexander Ludwig). Will and his family are transplants currently living in England. On his birthday Will discovers that he is the last of a group of immortal warriors of Light, the "Old Ones". The Old Ones have supernatural abilities, including the power to travel through time and space, and are engaged in a long-time struggle against the forces of Dark. Will is a special Old One, not only because he is the last Old One, but because he is also the Seeker--the person chosen to seek and find six Signs of Power (in the shape of a circle with a cross). When united the signs form a great weapon to fight the Dark. Will, however, only has a few days to find and united the Signs before the Dark Rider (Christopher Eccleston) and his minions reach the height of their power and will be able to overcome and withstand even the power of the united Signs.
THE SEEKER is based upon Susan Cooper's beloved novel, THE DARK IS RISING. However, other than a few names, locations, and sparse plot outline, THE SEEKER has no semblance to THE DARK IS RISING. For example, Will is turned from a British boy into an American, the character of the Walker is erased, and there is no hunt. I'm a huge fan of Susan Cooper's stories and when I learned about THE SEEKER, I was quite excited about it, but I was extremely disappointed by the movie adaptation. That's not to say the movie is terrible, because it's not. It is a decent escapist fantasy flick that, as a movie, isn't too bad. It is, however, a very, very, poor adaptation of the story it is based upon. All of the Celtic mythology, sense of magic, and powerful spiritualism that are such an integral part of Cooper's novel have been eliminated. The result is a decent fantasy movie that's entertaining to watch, but that fails to spark the imagination or encourage the heart and doesn't have much spirit.
Movie Review: Ugh, Why Did They Have to Cast That Creepy Kid from the Sandlot?
Summary: 3 Stars
While I absolutely loved the book, and have reread it numerous times since discovering it...er, a number of years ago, I didn't exactly hate the movie as much as other fans of the book seem to have done. Sure, it seemed a bit weird and unnecessary to make the family American--and why did some of the brothers have British accents? Also the whole adolescent angst thing was way overplayed, and the love interest sort of subplot, and then the whole lost twin thing...???? What was that all about? There was more than enough in the original book, the problem would be in deciding what to leave out, so I just don't get why they had to add all this new stuff. Totally unnecessary, and kind of distracting, but there was enough there from my beloved book to somewhat compensate. The fact that my 7-year-old son really liked it, too, raised my opinion of the movie a bit--he is not remotely interested in Harry Potter, although he did like the Narnia movies, so whatever it takes to get him to share some of my old favorites, I'm okay with.
The one thing we both could never really get past, though, was the fact that the kid who played Will Stanton had been the nastiest of the snotty Little League brats in Sandlot III, a movie that we have seen (along with Sandlots I and II) many, many times. Every time something bad happened to Will, we kept saying "Serves you right for being a nasty little baseball cheat". Bet Tommy Santorelli, David Durango or (especially) Benny the Jet Rodriguez would have made much better Seekers. Certainly less prone to standing around with that particularly stupid cow who's just been hit with a cattle prod expression on their faces, that's for sure. I hope little whatshisname goes on to a profitable carer in accounting or dentistry or plumbing or anything other than acting, as I don't particularly care to see him in any more movies.
Movie Review: In some ways, better than Harry Potter; but overall just average
Summary: 3 Stars
Individual performances by the actors are pretty good here, though somehow the lead comes across as a little overdone and not believable at the end when the young Will Stanton realizes the origin of the sixth sign and takes a dramatic verbal stand against the Dark.
What is nice about this movie is the way it starts out with normal kids in a normal world and then introduces little elements of fantasy bit by bit into that normal world. The local character parts are nicely acted, though Ian McShane's character does not get much of a chance to really develop and is limited in range, which is really too bad given the power of McShane.
Where I suspect people will find this one loses them is in the final third of the movie, when suddenly some of the characters go through changes that are not well explained and the magical world intrudes on the regular world with a ferocity that demands more of an explanation at the end of the movie than is given. In other words, at the very end many people are likely to say, "Hey, wait a minute, how do we understand or how come no one is talking about X and Y?"
I wish they had done more with the Old People and toned down the ending.
Still, while it is not as slick as Harry Potter, the first third of the movie did a better job than HP of making us believe magic could exist hidden alongside everyday reality. It also does not have the corney stereotypes and kid humor of HP, something a viewer may or may not appreciate.
I wanted to like it more, but in fairness, it is a 3 star movie at best. Somehow the elements did not all come together on this one.
Movie Review: Another young adult fantasy comes to the screen
Summary: 3 Stars
Neither my husband nor I have read Susan Cooper's "Seeker: The Dark is Rising" before attending the film. For the most part, the film is fairly self explanatory without reading the book.
Will Stanton, who is the seventh son of a seventh son, turns 14. He's the new kid in a university town outside London where his Dad has come to teach Physics. He's always felt he was the outsider--the least member of his large family.
Then strange things start happening. He's accosted by alleged security officers at the mall who demand that he give them the 'sign.' Next thing he knows, one of the officers grows claws and scratches him.
He discovers from a group of local citizens that he's the "Seeker" and it's his job to find six signs--five are physical and the other is something with him--these signs are critical to keep the forces of Darkness at bay. You see, the Dark is Rising and in five days, they'll have control of the world if Will doesn't stop them.
"Seeker's" not the premier offering of the new spate of fantasy films, but it is a decent film and worth the matinee price my spouse and I paid for it. The cinematography and effects were well done and so was the acting. The storyline is somewhat trite and could well have been translated from the book better. I doubt we'll buy the film, but we did enjoy the afternoon.
Movie Review: Fair escapist fantasy
Summary: 3 Stars
Will Stanton, seventh son of a seventh son, has a destiny. He is to be the one to save earth from an ancient darkness, come to new life. None of this fits his idea of his fourteen-year old self. He has only five older brothers and, as he says, "I don't even know how to talk to a girl."
It turns out that there was another brother, his older twin, who mysteriously vanished years ago. Will's distraught parents couldn't bring themselves to say the lost boy's name, preferring the numbness of forgetting. It also turns out that talking to girls, in his case, might not be a great idea - at least, not yet.
So, the quest is on for the Mystic Thingies (which he finds in the nick of time) and the world is saved. "Seeker" is a pleasant bit of fluff. The child and teen actors are suitably cute, especially Will's little sister. The mystical guardians are suitably sinister, and the good guys win. Maybe it's not memorable, and the reunion is highly implausible, but "Seeker" is a competent, enjoyable fantasy.
-- wiredweird, reviewing the theatrical release