I've rented many a film over the last year, knowing exactly what I was getting into, going-in with meager expectations, and all too often, even those haven't been met. Stathom's "Wild Card", "In Cold Blood"... You know, films that you know aren't going to be great, but you just hope they keep your attention and fill whatever genre craving I happen to have that particular evening.

This particular night, i craved some fantasy. Rented "Dracula untold"(haven't watched yet), and this film.

I was surprised by the a-list of actors - albeit some of them seem to be branching over to the 'slightly washed-up' category. Bridges is good as usual. His character adds just the right amount of brevity to the film. He's the glue here.

The film is paced perfectly. I knew it was going to be alright when i read the word cliché' 10 times in the first 4written reviews.

Thats usually a "shoe-in" for "will exceed expectations".

"The Seventh Son" does travel over beaten paths, but it's still an entertaining passing of the time. It's better than "Snow WHite and the Huntsmen", "Jack the Giant Slayer", "Season of the Witch", and "Prince of Persia", but it's not quite as good as "Maleficient". Still good for the genre, especially recently.

If you're craving mindless fantasy, it does the trick. 61/100

Set in medieval times in Europe somewhere, "Seventh Son" brings us back to a time when supernatural beings like witches, ghosts, ghasts and the like wreak terror on the countryside. The people depend on a special knight called the "Spook" to fight these creatures and restore peace.

Master Gregory is the last spook and he is getting on in age. In his last big fight with the grand witch Mother Malkin, he lost his latest apprentice Billy. Gregory searches for another "seventh son of a seventh son" to take his place.

His quest leads him to the farm of the Wards. As the young impulsive Tom heeds the Spook's call, will he be up to the task of becoming the new Spook before Mother Malkin fully regains her powers by the night of the blood moon? Or will Tom's falling for the charms of pretty Alice distract him from his destiny?

Cut down to its basic storyline, you would see a very common basic plot in many an adventure film: an old master training an heir-apparent to his position. This film takes that plot and brings into it fantastic monsters in action and teenage romance in bloom.

Ben Barnes plays Tom Ward. Barnes first gained attention as Prince Caspian in the Narnia films, though his career did not really fly too much. He takes another stab at stardom with yet another action fantasy with this one. Already a adult man, Barnes seemed too old for the character he is supposed to play. Anyhow, he still has a youthful mien to pull it off. I think he was cast so that a romance angle can be developed as well.

Jeff Bridges plays Master Gregory. He is at his hammy best here and he looks like he had a good time filming this. In fact, Bridges felt like he just reprised his role in last year's "RIPD", where he was a senior ghost policeman training a new recruit. Bridges had some witty ripostes which added the requisite humor to the proceedings.

Julianne Moore goes all campy playing Mother Malkin with evil relish and glee. She gets to wear more witchy-chic than Maleficent and she seemed to be having a field day with this over-the-top character, much unlike the more serious and quiet ones she is more known for. In addition, she and her coven of powerful witches (played by Antje Traue, Djimon Hounsou, Jason Scott Lee, among others) get to transform into dragons and similarly fantastic beasts, thanks to neat and nifty computer- generated special effects.

This film is based on the young adult novel "The Spook's Apprentice" written by Joseph Delaney. Unlike the atmospheric creepy book it was based on, the film is makes it more of an action fantasy for cinematic verve. Tom and Alice in the book are both pre-teens. The witch characters did not fit their descriptions in the book as well. They did not turn into animals, for one. In fact, one of the side characters, the deformed humanoid Tusk, even shifts over from evil in the book to good in the film.

The visual effects were hit and miss, some (like the creature transformations) were impressive and seamless, but some (like the conflagrations) looked old-fashioned and garishly fake. Book fans may be disappointed by the major deviations from the original tale. Those who are unfamiliar with the book though will be entertained, but will definitely feel that the story being told by director Sergey Bodrov follows a tired and very familiar formula. 6/10.

The hunter of supernatural creatures Master Gregory (Jeff Bridges) traps the queen of the witches Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore) is a pit on the top of a mountain. Years later, she escapes from the pit and Master Gregory and his apprentice Mr. Bradley (Kit Harington) hunt her down. However Mother Malkin kills Mr. Bradley and flees to a derelict castle that she restores with magic. She meets her sister Bony Lizzie (Antje Traue) and her niece Alice (Alicia Vikander) and plans to destroy Master Gregory to begin her kingdom of evil. Meanwhile the old hunter recruits the naive farmer Tom Ward (Ben Barnes), who is the seventh son of the seventh son of the Ward family, to team up with him and his partner Tusk (John DeSantis) to hunt down Mother Malkin. Tom's mother (Olivia Williams), who is secretly a good witch, gives a necklace with a magic stone to protect him. They head to the village where Tom meets Alice and falls in love with her. But what is the true intention of Alice? Will they succeed in destroying the powerful Mother Malkin?

"Seventh Son" is a fantasy film indicated for fans of the genre. The story is full of action, with romance, funny situations and great CGI. There is a cameo of Kit "Jon Snow" Harington in the role of Master Gregory's apprentice; the gorgeous Julianne Moore does not seem to age and performs the evil Mother Malkin; Olivia Williams has a minor but important role of the mother and good witch; the Swedish actress Antje Traue, the Ava of "Ex-Machina", is very beautiful and talented. However Jeff Bridges disappoints with a weird way of speaking, maybe with the intention of looking older. In the end, "Seventh Son" works perfectly well on DVD. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Sétimo Filho" ("The Seventh Son")