Seventh Son
Universal Pictures | Release Date: February 6, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
30
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
16
Negative:
14
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliFeb 6, 2015
By-the-numbers, generic plots no longer work and that, unfortunately, is what Seventh Son delivers. Impressive set design and visuals, excessive CGI, and a loud score from Marco Beltrami can't fully compensate for bland character development and a predictable narrative that rushes along on a linear trajectory. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyFeb 6, 2015
Surprise! One doesn’t want to damn the movie with faint praise by saying “it’s not that bad,” but that’s kind of the most objectively accurate description of it, in all honesty. Read full review
50
Boston GlobePeter KeoughFeb 12, 2015
To its credit, despite a rough start (witch burning and all that), Seventh Son does not succumb to misogyny. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyFeb 6, 2015
Seventh Son is brisk and unpretentious, though the fact that these two qualities can be considered remarkable probably says more about the state of modern genre filmmaking than it does about the movie itself. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleThomas LeeFeb 5, 2015
The result is a movie that serves as little more than an excuse for Moore and Bridges to camp it up. Read full review
50
SalonAndrew O'HehirFeb 5, 2015
It’s a thoroughly incoherent, generally inane and surprisingly entertaining tale of witches and monsters and what legendary film critic Joe Bob Briggs calls “beast fu,” all set in a sub-Tolkien, sub-“Game of Thrones” pseudo-medieval universe. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle SmithFeb 5, 2015
Seventh Son is not a good movie, but it’s also not a pretentious one, and I call that a fair trade. Read full review
50
The DissolveScott TobiasFeb 5, 2015
The film is overstuffed, but it’s swift and unpretentious, barreling through a non-stop series of action setpieces without pausing too long to take a breath. The busyness doesn’t eradicate the clichés, much less enrich the film emotionally or thematically, but there’s no time to think about them when Bodrov and his screenwriters, Charles Leavitt and Steven Knight, are moving along to the next sensation. It’s transporting in that sense, and that sense alone. Read full review
42
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanFeb 7, 2015
Though the film sat in drydock for a year, partly so technicians could convert it to 3-D, it looks as dull as it sounds. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyKyle AndersonFeb 5, 2015
(Bridges) has a tendency to make mistakes, especially when it comes to science fiction and fantasy titles. He has followed up the minor disasters that were "R.I.P.D." and "The Giver" with Seventh Son. Read full review
40
Total FilmKen McIntyre Mar 23, 2015
A swollen budget, a mini-Big Lewbowski reunion, and top-notch digital effects fail to enliven proceedings in yet another ho-hum dragon chaser based on a YA novel. Read full review
40
EmpireWilliam GossMar 23, 2015
This swords-and-sorcery throwback has little imagination on display, instead doubling down on computer-generated flair to pass the time. Read full review
40
CineVueJulia AlexanderFeb 18, 2015
Seventh Son is indescribably disappointing because it could have been a refreshing treat for genre fans. After spending years in development, the final product is laughably abysmal, and perhaps worst of all, utterly forgettable upon viewing. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovFeb 11, 2015
This rambunctious swords ’n’ sorcerers fantasy flick has grubby, pseudo-medieval CGI style to burn, but precious little in the way of anything new to add to this sort of genre storytelling. Read full review
40
TheWrapJames RocchiFeb 6, 2015
Seventh Son tells a story of dragons, witches, ghosts and ogres, but the most fantastic thing about it is the idea that someone thought this lumpy, bumpy and swollen sack of tired tropes and cluttered CGI would attract audiences. Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicKerry LengelFeb 5, 2015
Seventh Son is recommended only for the most far-gone of fantasy addicts, for whom it will serve as a sort of methadone. It won't exactly satisfy, but it will tide you over until the next season of "Game of Thrones." Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierFeb 4, 2015
Director Sergei Bodrov’s movie is based on a kids’ book in which Tom was a 12-year-old, and the actors wisely pitch their performances to a young crowd. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerDec 17, 2014
If anything, the movie offers up the guilty pleasure of seeing Bridges and Moore duel it out in front of countless green screens and a few stunning Canadian backdrops – two great actors clawing at each other with magic staffs and fake fire, trying to survive in the netherworld of heroic kitsch. Read full review
38
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandFeb 6, 2015
If the Brothers Grimm had devoted themselves to farce rather than scary fairy tales, they might have produced something like Seventh Son, a whacko sword-and-sorcery exercise. Read full review
38
USA TodayClaudia PuigFeb 5, 2015
Moore goes into operatic mode as Mother Malkin, a nasty witch who morphs into a menacing winged dragon. The worst performance, however, belongs to Jeff Bridges as a marble-mouthed, curmudgeonly knight named Master Gregory. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreFeb 4, 2015
The only question that’s worth considering in Seventh Son is whether this all-star B-movie is bad enough to cost Julianne Moore her “Still Alice” Oscar. And the answer to that is, “Not really.” Read full review
30
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriFeb 6, 2015
Seventh Son not only offers no new spin on its bland, by-the-numbers story, it also fails to deliver any generic pleasures; I’m not sure this movie could even keep a young child engaged. Read full review
30
The New York TimesManohla DargisFeb 5, 2015
If nothing else, it’s amusing to imagine what [Mr. Bridges] and Ms. Moore chatted about between takes and how each managed to keep from cracking up, more or less. Read full review
30
VarietyPeter DebrugeDec 17, 2014
Given the fine past work of its many parents, there was clearly potential here, but as delivered, Seventh Son amounts to nothing short of a creative miscarriage. Read full review
25
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyFeb 5, 2015
Torching “witches” is the one part of the story that has some historical basis, and adds an uncomfortable edge of misogyny to this otherwise empty fantasy. Read full review
25
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperFeb 5, 2015
Seventh Son moves at a fairly quick pace and has a sense of humor about itself. That doesn’t mean it’s thrilling, or funny. Just that it’s a quickly forgotten pile of junk. Read full review
25
Slant MagazineElise NakhnikianFeb 4, 2015
As is often the case in films like this, Seventh Son is at its weakest when it tries to leaven its brink-of-disaster gravity with a little nerdy humor. Read full review
20
The TelegraphRobbie CollinMar 26, 2015
Seventh Son would hardly be the first film to use "strong female characters" as a means of waving its misogyny under the radar, but it’s seldom carried off as depressingly as this. Read full review
20
Village VoiceSimon AbramsFeb 6, 2015
Jeff Bridges's abysmally campy performance may be the worst thing about disposable sword-and-sorcery fantasy Seventh Son, but it's also the only memorable thing. Read full review
10
Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyFeb 5, 2015
I know it's early, but Seventh Son may actually be the worst movie of the year. It will most certainly be a contender. The medieval/fantasy/action/drama/romance hits pretty close to a perfect 10 on the egregious scale. Read full review
0
HitfixDrew McWeenyFeb 6, 2015
It is a staggeringly bad film, made up of lots of faulty pieces. Read full review
0
The PlaylistDrew TaylorFeb 6, 2015
Nothing in Seventh Son is compelling, interesting or noteworthy, though you can feel the strain of the filmmakers attempting to set up a potential franchise. Read full review
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