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The Seeker (2007)
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Reviews Counted:89
Fresh:12
Rotten:77
Average Rating:3.9/10
Consensus: The magic of the book is lost in translation with The Seeker, due to its clumsy plot and lack of heart.
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
US Box Office: $8,746,699
Synopsis: Based on Susan Cooper's 1973 Newbery Award-winning fantasy novel, THE DARK IS RISING, director David L. Cunningham's 2007 film follows the adventures of young protagonist Will Stanton (Alexander... Based on Susan Cooper's 1973 Newbery Award-winning fantasy novel, THE DARK IS RISING, director David L. Cunningham's 2007 film follows the adventures of young protagonist Will Stanton (Alexander Ludwig), who discovers that he is an immortal being connected with an ancient struggle between good and evil. Aided by fellow "Old Ones," including Miss Greythorne (Frances Conroy) and Merriman Lyon (Ian McShane), Will, an American transplant in England, must face off against shadowy forces bent on world domination, most notably represented by the black-clad Rider (Christopher Eccleston). Taking a different approach to Cooper's revered novel, THE SEEKER, actually drawn from the second book in THE DARK IS RISING sequence, will certainly raise the eyebrows of ardent fans of the series, particularly given screenwriter John Hodge's considerable alterations to the original story. (For example, Will is American instead of British.) For those unattached to Cooper's story, however, THE SEEKER will likely prove to be an enjoyable escapist film, with Conroy (SIX FEET UNDER), McShane (DEADWOOD), and Eccleston (HEROES) adding credibility to a largely unknown cast that is anchored by the likable Ludwig. Presented by Walden Media, the company behind the CHRONICLES OF NARNIA screen adaptations, THE SEEKER may not please Cooper purists, but it will undoubtedly entertain those looking for a diverting fantasy movie. [More]
Starring: Alexander Ludwig, Christopher Eccleston, Ian McShane, Frances Conroy
Starring: Alexander Ludwig, Christopher Eccleston, Ian McShane, Frances Conroy, Jonathan Jackson
Director: David L. Cunningham
Director: David L. Cunningham
Screenwriter: John Hodge
Producer: Marc Platt
Composer: Christophe Beck
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Reviews for The Seeker
This one is unimaginative and hokey, an adventure nearly as bungling as last holiday season's dragon egg, Eragon
This movie is LAME. The dark may be rising, but the boredom is crushing.
Just another supernatural time travel movie that lacks passion and seemingly evaporates even as you watch.
Throughout its interminable and steadfastly, maniacally bewildering running time, neither the cast nor director Cunningham appear to have even the most rudimentary idea of what is going on from one sequence to the next.
The computer-graphic imagery is impressive, but The Seeker: The Dark is Rising demonstrates once again that when it comes to movie magic, TLC means more than CGI.
The bum execution ironically sheds light on just how dim this film about light and dark really is.
What exactly are The Light and The Dark? The filmmakers sincerely hope you don't ask.
[The film features] episodic set pieces with disorienting action, culminating in a face-off that defies logic in its resolution.
Not very likely to seize that Potter market, this is a disappointing film that starts out okay but goes rapidly downhill, thanks to rudimentary characterisation and storytelling that's designed more to accommodate gratuitous action.
That seventh-son-of-a-seventh-son business sounds like Muddy Waters singing, 'Got my Mojo Workin'.'
At its best, The Seeker is a pretty vivid fantasy book come-to-life; it does a decent, passable job of adding to the canon of kid-lit flicks.
Walden Media's success at making the worlds of Narnia and Terabithia feel real on screen does not translate into the same magic in adapting Susan Cooper's series of young-adult fantasy novels.
Too quick, too slight, and too cliched to make a splash in the company of such high-quality adaptations like LOTR and Harry Potter.
Ecclestein and McShane are so captivating it's almost worth putting up with The Seeker's inept script.
Director David L. Cunningham and screenwriter John Hodge ("Trainspotting") conspire with a gruelingly slow pacing to underpin nebulous special effects sequences. "The Seeker" is a children's fantasy movie worth avoiding.
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