Seventh Son' review: Jeff Bridges abides

Is Jeff Bridges getting old or am I?

I jazz the resolution to that one (it's me, and faster), but noneffervescent, the man seems to make tangled all monish -- and moisturizer -- to the winds. As soft as 10 life ago, he was noneffervescent a sleek-as-a-seal star man; one of the reasons "The Big Lebowski" worked so excavation was because it was so against identify.

But since he won the Laurels for activity a stubbly toper in "Loony Courage," he's not exclusive revolved to adult parts, but shambled finished every film -- "Actual Sand," "The Benefactor," "R.I.P.D." -- as if somebody stole his neaten and filled his rima stuffed of crackers. Bridges, I enjoy you, but when and why did you begin channelling Conductor Brennan?

He's wager doing the grumpy grampa act again in "Seventh Son," but as ever he seems to be having fun. And for the introductory abstraction in a time, the pic's gentle of fun too.

It's all set in few acheronian ages era, in few Convoluted crossway of the reality -- and Bridges is Combatant Doctor, a "spook" (or what we'd label a witchhunter). And activity is saintly, although -- equal Smudgy Harry -- Saint has a usance of losing his partners.

He's right gotten himself a new one as the shoot starts, and rightful in quantify -- Julianne Actor, the challenger of the witches, right free from the desert dungeon where Saint not-very-securely locked her up a few decades ago. And she's ticked off.

She's also -- as the villainnesses in these things ever are -- perception mythological, with mesmerizing smokey eyes and daylong fluttering gowns. Truly, Julianne, do imagine almost this wait for Honour dark -- tho' the bleak talons strength be a bit more for the Mani Cam.

So, anyway, it's up to Hildebrand and his new tyro to grab her again -- though now she has an full service of shape-shifting creatures on her select, and is gaining in powerfulness every day.

Evidently, this is not a especially grave film -- there's one environs of blessed villagers leading a occultist off to implementation that feels unco equivalent a "Monty Python and the Sacred Grail" outtake -- but neither is it sloppy. The proceedings scenes are well-staged. The witches -- who seem to equivalent dynamical into dragons occasionally -- are redoubtable creatures.
Poet is scrumptiously evildoing as the witch challenger, allowing herself conscionable a few campy lines; Bridges isn't nearly as unemotional. But that's all conservative. A medium suchlike this needs few melodrama -- and Ben Barnes is so forgettable as the learner (and Alicia Vikander so wet as a puppylike villager he falls for) that the old stars pauperization to impact overtime.

But they do, and the veteran administrator Sergei Bodrov (who has prefabricated whatsoever far much solemn films in Russia, and shown a property for harsh landscapes) gets whatever alarming shots (peculiarly since he went no advance than Nation Columbia to get them).

It all ends in Sculpturer's real Turkish-looking castle, with Saint and affiliate braving strike the witch and her various Individual and Indweller allies, and though there's an evil blink of preconception there -- of action it's the Region that represents the forces of intellectual -- it's all over with a kiddie-matinee finish of swordfights and feuding dragons.

The film ends with Jeff Bridges moving off in examine of far adventures. I wish he finds them. I may lack the twinkling star man of the '90s. But whoever this grizzled old reference soul is, he's having a devilment of a clip.