Rating: 2/5 Stars

If anyone knows who Ben Barnes is from his praised role in “The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian,” then they know that fantasy seems to be his comfort zone when choosing roles. The same fact remains true in his latest film “The Seventh Son,” where he fights alongside award–winning actor Jeff Bridges.

       The movie depicts the imaginative world of 14–year–old Tom Ward (Ben Barnes), who is the seventh son of a seventh son, meaning that he is destined to become the apprentice of a Spook. Master Greggory (Jeff Bridges), a Spook, decides to take Tom under his wing and teach him the art of fighting magical beings.

Personally, I was looking forward to seeing this movie, because I became a massive fan of Ben Barnes after his role in the “Narnia” franchise. However, I was disappointed to discover that this movie was only sub par in comparison to what I had originally expected.

Let it be said that for once, I actually did not read the novel before seeing the film, so maybe my imagination isn’t exactly accurate in this case. But despite my bias, I still did not feel like this movie was good enough to be shown in theaters.

  The vast majority of this film made no sense to me whatsoever. This film was a little too fantasized and unrealistic for my taste. Master Greggory has an ogre sidekick, who happens to show up mid–film at random times.

The one thing I did find remotely humorous about the ogre’s role in the movie was that whenever he appeared, Master Gregory would roll his eyes and say, “You are as loyal as you are ugly!”

      Additionally, I feel that if you’re going to make a fantasy movie of such a high caliber, there would have to be believable costume designs and unique sets, which “The Seventh Son” did not accomplish.

      I’ve seen countless movies that have done a better job of providing an immersive environment for the audience. With the budget, the directors and the set members that the film had, there is no excuse for the lack of quality.

      Yet another problem I had with this film was that Ben Barnes is 33 years of age and he’s playing a 14–year–old boy. I know that a lot of actors these days play characters that may be a considerable amount younger than them, but a 19–year age gap between an actor and his or her character must not go unnoticed.

     There’s a fine line between fantasy and cliche. “The Seventh Son” was a little too much like the “Hobbit” for my liking. The pace was so slow that the only thing keeping me from slipping out of consciousness was the fact that I had some very delicious popcorn , M&M’s and a mildly–obnoxious friend who kept smacking me every time I began to dose off.

According to Forbes, “The Seventh Son” made approximately $82 million in box offices overseas during its opening weekend. There is no doubt in my mind that this would occur, since ” The Seventh Son” series has been described as a worldwide phenomenon.

The trailer had a gripping tone, depicting the action scenes of the movie in a suspenseful way. Undeniably so, the movie ended up being a huge disappointment.

    I would have a different opinion if I were rating the movie by its accuracy to the novel, but based on my blindness and the unbelievably dry plot line, I wouldn’t recommend this movie.

Combined with all of my previous reasoning, the biggest contributing factor to my two–star rating was probably due to the film’s poor casting.

   Ben Barnes, someone recognized as an amazing actor, was far too old to be playing a 14–year–old Tom. Whereas Jeff Bridges, who is also highly reviered in the acting world, seemed to fail in illustrating even a shred of believability in his portrayal of Master Greggory. The horrid costumes only added to the mess.

    If you contrast the costume that Barnes sports in any one of his more popular films, it’s easy to see how poorly planned out the outfits really were in “The Seventh Son.”

      The plot was a bore. The screenwriters could have found a stronger tactic to captivate their audiences and compose a more organized film.

    The opening of  any motion picture is ideally meant to explain the main plot line in an interesting way, while also keeping audiences interested throughout, “The Seventh Son” accomplished neither.

Watching this movie was a waste of two hours of my life. I could have spent my Friday night doing something more worthwhile, like watching something I actually enjoy.

It was rather unfortunate that this movie didn’t meet my expectations. As a longtime fan of the fantasy genre and Ben Barnes, I had high hopes when I walked into the theater.

However, I suppose I can’t expect to like every movie I venture out to see.

Even though I love the existance of mythical creatures and sword fights in a movie, it just didn’t fall into place here.

I would not reccomend this movie for your regular Saturday afternoon out at the movies. If you’re in the mood for an action flick, this is not the film the summary says it is. If you’re anything like me, you will probably feel even more bored walking out of the cinema than you would have been if you’d stayed home and watched a movie you have seen a million times before on Netflix.