 
The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising
a.k.a.
“Los Seis signos de la luz,”
“Wintersonnenwende - Die Jagd nach den sechs Zeichen des Lichts,”
“Pimeä nousee,”
“Os Seis Signos da Luz,”
“I Anatoli tou Skotous,” “Pimedus kerkib,” “Les Portes du temps,” “Il Risveglio delle tenebre” MPAA Rating:
 for fantasy action and some scary imagesReviewed by: Andreana Hartbarger Better than Average
Moviemaking Quality:
½Primary Audience:
Kids, Family
Genre:
Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Drama, Adaptation
Length:
1 hr. 41 min.
Year of Release:
2007
USA Release:
October 5, 2007 (wide); DVD release: March 18, 2008
This film is based on Susan Cooper’s novel The Dark Is Rising. “Even the smallest of light… shines in the darkness” Fantasy films have erupted since 2000. With our new technology for movie effects also comes a new idea to how realistic they can appear. 'The Seeker' is no exception to this statistical fact. However, unlike MANY previous fantasy movies that are said to be 'meant' for children audiences, this actually is. The story starts out with a 14 year-old boy, Will Stanton. Will's a typical teenage boy who has an extreme doubt in himself and his bravery. We see that he wants his family to love him very badly, but they act as if they never have time for him. Even despite this, he never stops helping and loving them. When he finds out that he is the newest member of a group called 'The Old Ones', he gets more than he bargained for. 'The Old Ones' are powerful guardians and warriors who fight against darkness. They put their whole lives toward protecting the world from the Dark. The 'Dark' is revealed to be an extremly evil and cruel demon of a sort, named 'The Rider'. As it goes, the rider travels around spreading chaotic doing's to the world with dark magic. When it comes to bad guys, I've got to admit, the rider was a very scary one. He posses Will's brother in one scene, changes the weather, and creates dark monster. Through this story, Will starts to mature. He decides to save the ones he loves from their coming doom by searching for six magical items. These are called, 'The Signs', and he thinks that they will help him defeat the Dark Rider. When the uncertain and caring Will finally has to fight the Dark Rider, he is willing to sacrifice his own life to do so. So, what IS appropraite for our children these days? Is it those horror movies that teach our children it's 'okay' to show gore and violence. What about the romances that confuse kids on what love truly means, and makes an impression in their teen years? Oh, and we can't forget all the 'cool' reality movies, where girls only matter if they flirt with guys and are cheerleaders, and boys are only attractive if they wear name brand clothes and belong to a sports team. Many parents pretend it isn't there; the gossip, the flirting, the violence, and the obvious disrespect shown for parents in movies today. And the worst part is, adults are the ones making these movies that make teens turn to material things. POSITIVE POINTS -If you look at this movie for it's morals, then you won't be dissapointed. Will makes remarks like, 'I'm no superhero!' Will exclaims. 'I can't even figure out how to talk to a girl.' He IS scared of failing. He isn't perfect! He needs help like anyone else. -Will loves his family. He risks everything for them, even when they don't always return his love. We see strong sibling bonds with him and his brother and sister. His brother carries guilt with a shameful secret, and because of that, is possesed by the Dark Rider. When Will sees him, we hear him tell his brother, 'You don't have to deal with it alone. Your family loves you.' Even his not-so-perfect parents release their past guilt by the end and show a strong love for their children. (Alas, finally some respect for parents!) -There is one message that stands above them all in this story; the one of good and evil. We constantly see the darkness taunt, bring destruction, and carry great temptation to the weak people, which is everyone. The Old Ones are always talking of peace, truth, justice, and light. A lady once comments to Will, 'I believe in you, you will carry the power of light.' In the end Will, magic can't help him, only his heart can fight against the darkness. -This isn't a Harry Potter type movie( I myself am against the Harry Potter movies).'We serve the Light,' the Old Ones tell Will. 'The Rider serves the Dark.' Aka, good is good, and bad is bad. There is NO in between or gray lines. NEGATIVE POINTS -I conted two exlamations of, 'Oh my God!' -In one brief scene we see Will's parents sipping what appears to be wine. -This is a PG movie and therefore has suspense and action that would probably be frightening to younger children. Overall, I say this is an exellent movie that teaches children lessons not taught in school. I recently learned that the director is David Cunningham, the founder of 'Youth with a Mission', the christian ministry. Even if the director wasn't christian I'm sure this movie would have delivered the same messages that it did when I just now saw it. We need to stop our children from watching the blurred lines of movies like Harry Potter, Dungeons and Dragons, and other dark fantasies. Some good fantasies for kids(that are actually appropraite AND have a few morals) are; Eragon, Nanny McPhee, Chronicles of Narnia, Night at The Museum, and Peter Pan(live action). If you like fantasy films then I doubt you'll regret taking your kids to see 'The Seeker.' Violence: Moderate / Profanity: Minor / Sex/Nudity: None See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.   Positive - There's no better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than at a theater watching an amazing action/fantasy film. When the film is almost spotlessly clean, it's a double pleasure. The Seeker delivers. Hardcore fantasy fanatics may find the film a bit tame; after all, the plot is simple and straightforward, and the magical creatures are limited to ravens and snakes controlled by the forces of darkness. But look past the children's-movie generalizations and what you have is a fun, moral, clean movie about the clash between light and darkness and the boy caught in the middle. I was blown away by the cinematography alone; intriguing and unusual camera angles and tricks make The Seeker one of the most visually beautiful movies I've ever seen. The special effects were far superior to what I expected, and the locations were incredibly detailed and realistic (or mystical, depending on the setting). Negative - This movie was nothing like the book. It eliminated the pre-Christian arthurian elements that make the books even remotely exciting. Changing Wills country of origin was just so unnecessary and just pandering to americans. This is fine for young kids, but, as a 23 year old, I will not pander my tastes to the youngest person in the room. Give me some complexity along the lines of a Crime and Punishment or heck even Harry Potter for some ambiguity that requires some thought. For adults alone avoid. Children go ahead just beware Will has some supernatural powers that greatly rival that of Harry Potters Positive - Overall this movie was enjoyable and a good reflection of the never ending battle between good and evil. I liked the special effects and most of the acting. However, if you want a much better story -- read the book, in fact, read the entire series. To a viewer who has never read the book, this movie will probably be enjoyable, especially the kids. The changes made the plot seem a bit light and contrived instead of the showing the richness of the original story. I feel that Walden Media should have kept more of the Arthurian / Celtic elements in the movie and that would have made a better story. They did such an excellent job with 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' that I was disappointed that they didn't do the same job with this book. Comments from young people
Positive - This movie is great! I have read the novel this book is based off of and while it deviated from it a lot (which I found without reason), I found the movie itself to be wonderful. Christopher Eccleston as the Rider was great and showed that not all villains look evil. There were a lot of Christian truths to this movie, and I recommend for everyone to read the novel. I highly doubt this film will receive a negative review. Positive - This was a very cool movie; my whole family went to see it and even my 7 year old brother was not scared, but other little kids might be. It wasn't too scary and easy to follow, and the 'bad guy' was really cool. I liked it a lot! Positive - I loved it! Although it was a major rip off of the 7th book in the Harry Potter series. I went to see it with my friend Libby and we were fawning over the character Max Staten the whole time! It was brilliant but probably appropriate for 9+. There was one part… maybe 2 that kinda freaked me out. Like the Skeleton and the part where this pretty lady turns into a creepy shriveled up thing. But other than that it was an excellent movie and the graphics were great and there was a lot of action, and I was never bored! 2 thumbs up! Positive - I think it was an exellent movie, even though his family ignores him in away he still loves them and want to save them. He believes its the right thing to do, and he has to overcome the darkness with light. Positive - I thought this was a great family fantasy movie. Some elements may frighten very young children, however I did not see anything objectionable or excessive. The only negative is that, at least to me, the film did seem to start out a bit slow, and from the comments of the other maybe this is because of the chages that were made from the book, but it didn't take long to become very interesting to everyone in my family - children and adults alike. Positive - My wife and I watched it and thought it was a good movie. My 8 yr old son watched it and thought it was GREAT! It wasn't quite as good as Narnia, but we enjoyed it very much. |
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