I’m going to catch flack for not hating this movie because it is the sort of movie I tend to hate. First off it has kids in it and it’s derivative of quite a few other movies too. Plus you pretty much know everything that’s going to happen. Yet, despite that, I didn’t mind this film. It had interesting visuals and it reminded me of the kid’s films from the 80s.
So let’s get in to this thing. The Seeker: The Dark is Rising is the story of a kid trying to fight for the light. I’ll get to what the hell that means in a second. Will Stanton is the boy’s name, he’s 13 (just about to turn 14) and he’s living in jolly old England. He’s approached by a shady character on a horse demanding that he give him “the signs.” Will is confused by this, naturally, but soon we find out that Will is a “seeker” of “signs” and he’s there to save the world. It’s been a thousand years since the light fought the dark and such — get all six signs and we’re saved, but there’s a villain out there foiling his every move, blah blah.
That’s the main weakness of The Seeker right there. It’s a glomation (made up word) of every fantasy epic you’ve ever seen. It’s got some Potter, some Lord of the Rings, heck even some Star Wars. No new ground is mined on any level. And the last 30 minutes or so feel a bit like a death march replete with brutal dialogue.
The movie does a few things well though, and that’s why I’m going on the record as not hating it. It has some great camera work, stuff that you don’t expect from a movie geared towards families. I won’t get too technical but The Seeker uses distance shots to great effect. They set a mood of paranoia, they’ve got washed out colors, and they’re visually interesting. I didn’t have any expectation that this would be a good looking film going in so I was pleasantly surprised. The movie also builds the story in a very old school manner, something akin to when kid’s films used to be scary, efforts such as Goonies or even parts of E.T. Somehow we lost suspense in family films but The Seeker does an interesting job of storytelling and recaptures a bit of that magic.
Am I a little sad I liked part of this? Yes. It would have been much easier, and funnier, to just write something scathing. But the movie isn’t all bad, and I think there’s a great chance that the adults who take the kids won’t be completely miffed they went. Anyone 11-14 will probably enjoy it. So there you have it. The Seeker, while not perfect, isn’t anything like most brain-dead kid’s adventures. Respect given.
