Movie Review for The Seeker: The Dark is Rising (2007)

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Review #540 of 365
Movie Review of The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007) [PG] 94 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $11.50
Where Viewed: United Artists Denver Pavilions Stadium 15, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 5 October 2007
Time: 2:30 pm
DVD Release Date: 18 March 2008 (click date to purchase or pre-order)
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer

Directed by: David L. Cunningham (After...)
Screenplay by: John Hodge (The Beach) based on the novel The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Alexander Ludwig (The Sandlot 3) • Christopher Eccleston ("Heroes") • Ian McShane (Hot Rod) • Frances Conroy (The Wicker Man) • James Cosmo (The Last Legion) • Jim Piddock (Epic Movie) • Amelia Warner (Alpha Male) • John Benjamin Hickey (Freedom Writers) • Wendy Crewson (Away from Her) • Emma Lockhart (Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World) • Drew Tyler Bell (Love's Abiding Joy) • Edmund Entin (Color Me Olsen) • Gary Entin (Color Me Olsen) • Gregory Smith ("Everwood")

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Click to read the spoiler points for The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising
Obviously, some are hoping Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series will be able to follow in the venerable footsteps of Harry Potter and create a huge film fan base following. The problem with this is that the former, print-wise, has not captivated the world to the same degree, and it might just be partly because Susan Cooper's unique mythology she invented for her books, at least as they have been translated into the first film, is a bit too convoluted and hard to make much sense out of. Without having read the books, perhaps, filmgoers may spend much of the film literally 'in the dark' as much as are the characters as to what's going on.

For reasons that are later deemed to be that of fate, but otherwise are poorly explained, physics professor, John Stanton (John Benjamin Hickey) and his wife, Mary (Wendy Crewson) move their gigantic family from the US to a small town in England. Their giant brood in order by age includes eldest son Stephen (Jordan J. Dale) [seen only via webcam as he's in the military and stationed near Hawai'i], Max (Gregory Smith), James (Drew Tyler Bell), the twins Robin (Edmund Entin) and Paul (Gary Engin), Will (Alexander Ludwig), and the only daughter, Gwen (Emma Lockhart). They live in an enormous house with lots of levels and open spaces and staircases. The place is cheerful and airy and light. There's nothing the least bit sinister about anything, nothing creepy or foreboding. It's Christmas time in England, and there's plenty of good cheer around. The Stantons are heading home from school with the elder boys teasing Will about not wanting to approach a girl he's certainly got his eye on. When they get home, Max is back from college to join the family. He's brooding about something. Nearly everyone seems to have forgotten that it's soon to be Will's 14th birthday. Max promises him something great and give him a card wishing him a happy 13th birthday. The twins pop forth with one wrapped up sock claiming the other will be for Christmas, "…they're a pair," they chime in. Gwen is the only one with a suitable gift, a new digital watch with chronometer built in. Things are so jolly as to be borderline mundane, all hiding that which is to come. For, as it turns out, things in the little town are not all as they seem. The Christmas tree delivery men, Dawson (James Cosmo) and Old George (Jim Piddock) seem to gush upon meeting Will Stanton as if their on to the fact that he's a famous Hollywood movie star in disguise. Later, while shopping at the local mall for something appropriate to give Gwen for Christmas, he comes upon a jewelry cart selling wonderful stones on leather lanyards.

"…most of the credit must go to Alexander Ludwig who really did an outstanding job in carrying this picture."
Perfect he believes. When he passes over the money, he gets back the necklace in a box with a unique paper wrap that seems to swirl in fractal-like patterns before his eyes practically making him dizzy. Not long after, some security men meet up with him to have a chat about his shoplifting problem. When he refuses to cooperate with their inquiry, they turn into nasty creatures made of crows and chase him out of the building but not before lancing his chest just below the neckline with a bloody scratch. The confusion he's facing and odd events are chalked up by everyone in his family whom he approaches for help as being part of puberty. An encounter later with some of the town elders led by Miss Greythorne (Frances Conroy) and Merriman Lyon (Ian McShane) however change his fears into a whole new life for the boy. They claim that he's the seventh son of a seventh son whose soul has been passed down through the generations--the descendant of the original maker of the signs whose brilliance in hiding them as regular objects throughout time kept them all these centuries from the 'the darkness'. You see, they tell him, there was a great battle between darkness and light. The darkness was determined to rule the world, but the light won out achieving a balance. But, every so many thousands of years, the darkness would produce a Rider (Christopher Eccleston) whose power would rise over five days and only The Seeker—the seventh son of a seventh son—would be able to travel through time, find the signs, gain his own power, and again push back the darkness allowing the world to go on as usual. If you are confused, well, it's probably explained better in the book that the film. The problem, of course, with their philosophy that he's The Seeker is that Will knows only too well that he's not the seventh son. He's only the sixth. There are not seven sons in his family. Or were there? As it turns out, he too was a twin born just after Thomas who disappeared when they were just infants under the not so watchful eye of their father who was writing a thesis about his theories of the actuality of darkness. Of course, all these years, he blamed himself for the loss of Thomas, and gradually they began as a family to talk less and less about him to the point where, in fact, Will never heard about him. So, The Old Ones, as they call themselves, turn out to be right, and Will must take on his destiny over the next five days to accumulate all the signs, keep them from The Rider, and save the world from imminent peril. Of course if you want to know any more about the plot or the ending, you'll have to check the spoiler points.

If the notion of a young boy getting special powers and saving the world sounds recycled from Harry Potter it's not. This theme has been around since the beginning of storytelling. Think about Hercules if nothing else comes to mind to prove the point. So, don't blame Susan Cooper if you think you've heard all this before. She really has done, or rather John Hodge the screenwriter who adapted her books, an interesting job in creating some elements of a new theme. The time shifting ability of The Seeker, who is the only one who can see the patterns needed to locate the signs, is a power not too many have had before. While this may have played out better in the books, the film version doesn't really take much advantage of the usual 'fish out of water' elements of the time shifting. Meanwhile, it's never quite clear why The Rider simply doesn't take the 'signs'--which might better have been called 'elements' or 'tokens' or 'amulets' because the term 'signs' would have been better used as the signals that direct The Seeker to the objects—from The Seeker. Yes, he's growing in his powers with each sign, but clearly The Rider is vastly more powerful if not just simply bigger. Some of the mythology is hard to follow and figure out. The Old Ones are the protectors of The Seeker, but they really don't do that much protecting. The oddest thing is that, on the one hand, they will do anything to save the world, but on the other, they sort of let Will come to his own conclusions as to what to do, so that by the 5th day, he's still not found all the signs. Wouldn't you think they'd light a fire under this kid to get him motivated? Anyway, if one can get sort of passed these things which are quick to turn many people off of science fiction and fantasy, then you have a pretty basic story about a kid who gets special powers to save the world who has to make choices between a pretty girl and saving his family vs. fulfilling his destiny. It's not a wondrous new story, but it's the kind of story that many prepubescent boys and girls will like to some degree—perhaps not nearly as much as they love Harry Potter, though Alexander Ludwig is sure to build a sizeable following with his good looks and shy charm. For the most part, any success of the film must be attributed to him and his ability to make the thing work. He must carry a tremendous burden for such a young actor mapping well onto the triumphant expectations of his character. Nearly everyone else in the film is practically a bystander in comparison, and unlike Harry, he's got no Ron or Hermione to help him out of sticky situations. Instead he's got The Old Ones who never seem to be around when he needs them—that is, until the final battle of course.

While there is a certain predictability to the ending and the way it goes, it's still some fun. It's unfortunate, in some ways, that the Harry Potter film series has been so spectacular because it becomes very hard and tremendously expensive for other children's fantasy literature turned film to compete.

"… a good but not grand movie."
The special effects in The Seeker: The Dark is Rising are good but not astonishing, the acting is good but not commanding, the sets are clever but not ingenious, and the climax cinematography splendid but not outstanding. The net result is a good but not grand movie. Only the box office results will determine if it has been good enough to warrant sequels and true franchise status. Certainly, if it is, most of the credit must go to Alexander Ludwig who really did an outstanding job in carrying this picture.
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Cast Members
Alexander Ludwig • Christopher Eccleston • Ian McShane
Frances Conroy • James Cosmo • Jim Piddock
Amelia Warner • John Benjamin Hickey • Wendy Crewson
Emma Lockhart • Gregory Smith • Edmund Entin
Director
David L. Cunningham
Writer
John Hodge
Books
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Review-lite The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007) [max of 150 words]
Alexander Ludwig as Will Stanton aka The Seeker of The Seeker: The Dark is Rising fame, carries this film from beginning to end. Directed by David L. Cunningham based on the books by Susan Cooper, the film tells the tale of a young boy who suddenly learns the fate of the world rests on his shoulders and ability to use his powers to travel through time to locate 'signs' that, once assembled, will make him able to defeat the impending darkness. A little too formulaic and, perhaps, derivative of the genre claimed more than adequately by Harry Potter, nonetheless, the series has potential due to the charismatic portrayal by Ludwig. There's little chance of The Seeker becoming the next Harry Potter as there are still more Harry Potter films to come in the first place, but certainly there's still a place for this good but not grand set of stories.
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