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The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007)

Director: David L. Cunningham

Time Out rating

Average user rating

7 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Another 14-year-old boy discovers the future of humanity depends on his magical powers in this over-familiar fantasy adventure adapted from the acclaimed series of novels by British writer Susan Cooper. Her fans are appalled by what they see as this dumbed-down version, minus the Arthurian mythology underpinning the original story, and their distress is understandable. Screenwriter John Hodge (he of ‘Trainspotting’ fame) struggles to bring much resonance to the proceedings because he’s too busy explaining the plot – then explaining it all over again. So, Alexander Ludwig’s hesitant hero, whose American family have relocated to the English countryside, learns from enigmatic butler Ian McShane that he is ‘The Seeker’, whose task it is to locate a series of tokens secreted throughout time, enabling the forces of ‘The Light’ to vanquish ‘The Dark’ (as represented by Christopher Eccleston’s not-that-scary ‘Rider’). Got that? Well, for some reason there are only five days before the evils of rising CGI lay waste to this rural enclave, but without much tension, imagination or self-deprecating humour, it’s hard to care. A total dud.

Author: Trevor Johnston 2007-10-16 10:29:43

Time Out London Issue 1939: October 17-23 2007

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User reviews of this film

chris said...

Posted on Nov 06 2007 14:40 Absolutely appauling. From an adult perspective it's the worst film i've ever seen. The only thing scary about Christopher Eccleston is his acting and don't get me started on Ian Mc shane. Maybe it's because i grew up with the excellent susan cooper novel and a part of me wanted the film to match the novels disturbing darkness and themes. To summerise: read the book, you won't be disappointed.

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Jonny said...

Posted on Nov 01 2007 16:42 absolutey the worst film i have seen in a long time. terrible acting and the plot is awful. some scenes had myself and many other movie-goers in stitches laughing at the poor acting. worth watching for a laugh though i suppose!

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Christina said...

Posted on Oct 28 2007 11:43 Excellent childrens film, predictable and not enough depth for adults, but clever advertising and markeing encouraged us to see it. Disappointing adult viewing.

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jamie said...

Posted on Oct 27 2007 12:22 i found the film really good and wish it had gone on longer. i would recommend it to anyone!!

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Ishbel said...

Posted on Oct 26 2007 12:46 I don't see why everyone puts this film down. It is really entertaining and it makes you want more. But, why do the americans picture the british as being stuck up and having posh accents we're not all like that. But i think this film is WELL worth seeing and i would recomend it to anyone who wanted to see a nailbitingly good film. Thumbs up!!

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beth said...

Posted on Oct 25 2007 16:03 reli gd fim bt wat was wid the start i cld nt tell wether we were in america od england lol bt soon found out!

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John said...

Posted on Oct 22 2007 11:06 I think the reviewer is being a little on the harsh side here. True, some of the film could have been handled better (where did they film that "english" village? Bavaria?) but the story was entertaining enough. No LOTR but well worth a watch anyway,

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