Classic YA book - Arthurian legend + cinematic liberties = pretty good time
As I mentioned in my comment on Lunanshee's posting about this movie, I have read all of the books in this series, and would recommend them to just about anyone. Apparently the actor Ian McShane found them too dense, but I think that YA readers can handle them just fine.
The fly in the ointment for this movie is that it is overshadowed too much by the other "Boy Who Conquered the Forces of Evil." HP may have Voldemort, but I would like to contend that Christopher Eccleston was really creepy as The Rider, particularly when he shows up in his buttoned-down psycho alter ego in Will's world. Still, the comparisons between the two are entirely too easy, to the detriment of a viewer's experience.
I also think that the release date doesn't work in the film's favor. This movie would have done incredibly well at Thanksgiving, not in the no man's land of between summer and holiday movies, with TV's premier week to distract us. As the author for the Chocolate and Vodka blog (see link in response posting) points out, these books/movie are best experienced around the Christmas holidays, when the atmosphere is just right for that brand of British mysticism. I don't know about you guys, but it is warm and sunny here, so it is more difficult to mentally transport oneself to the misty moors of England, or to a quaint village.
That being said, the visuals of the movie were just right. I loved the small town; to me, it was a believable setting. I also think that even though the story bores Ian McShane, he was a passable Merriman Lyon. I always pictured him exuding an omniscient stateliness, so when Frances Conroy (doing her very best Dame Maggie Smith impression) begins to bicker with him about the right way to communicate with a teen boy, I was a little surprised. However, as the movie went on, the interaction between the two leading Old Ones grew on me; they are more or less human too, with their own blind spots. Who does know how to deal with teens? Not many, and that is why they are so interesting yet frustrating. I do think that the writers imbued Will with too much doubt. Book-Will was a little too self-assured for an 11 year-old, but movie-Will reminds me too much of Book-Harry Potter in Order of the Phoenix, when I wanted to tell him to stop whining and get to business. Still, Alexander Ludwig did far better than I expected, and that is always nice.
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I do agree with Suw (blogger on Chocolate and Vodka) that the invention of a twin in the third act was way too much of a plot-stretch. Not only was it too much of a violation of the source material to fit my taste (I am a bit of a purist, and so I think that Chris Columbus's HP movies are by far superior to the subsequent ones), but then the costumers had to give the made-up character an awful wig to differentiate him from our protagonist. I think what the writer's don't know yet is that if they create a character, they are responsible for him. What is twin-Tom going to do in the rest of the series? There is no place for him. This is different than adding a love-interest (which they did for this movie, and I also deplore that decision!) for the hero. If we are to believe that they are twins, how is Tom, given his experiences, going to sit back and let Will have all of the glory? He isn't; he is going to want to keep up and be a hero too. Plus, I have to ask why in the world would his family not show the least bit of trepidation mixed with wonder at where he had been for the last 14 years. I much prefer the Book-sibling who dies in infancy and really has no role other than a place-holder to make Will the 7th son.
I am also of the same mind as Suw when I say that taking away the close bond that the Stanton family has was a tragic mistake. Will's father isn't a mentally-absent figure, even though he doesn't have a large role in the books. None of his family does, but the Movie-Family hinted at a lot of darkness (Max challenging his dad at the dinner table? What was that about?). I do however think it was an interesting addition to have his father working on a dissertation/publication about the physical properties of the Dark. That's kind of cool.
Unlike Suw, I think that the use of snowglobes was super. How else will The Rider's threat be ominous? I also think that the use of the snowglobe in The Rider's last scene was really neat and apropos. Trapping Tom-the-made-up-twin in one was super-lame though, but I suppose that I am more than a little biased against his addition to the plot.
I also caught a reference to the books in the filming; Maggie Barnes fingers a wooden "W" on the Christmas tree. I see how the symbol's meaning had to be left out in the rush to make the books more "cinematic", but I thought it was an interesting aspect of the book's plot. It may have taken too long to explain in the film, in addition to the fact that the Movie-Stantons were transatlantic transplants, but I had to comment on it. I caught the allusion. Amelia Warner was also a pretty good Maggie, instrument-of-the-dark. But come on, who didn't see it coming? The cloak didn't manage to conceal the wearer's identity at all.
I can't remember how Will received the belt in the novel, but using the Naval brother's Christmas box was a nice touch. The paper-mache head didn't fit in the book, I thought, and would have been an awful addition to the film. Points for the writers there. On the other hand, if I hear anyone say the words "through time" in reverential tones once more, I will scream! Come on folks; use your words, or at least a thesaurus!
Seriously, are you going to be a savior of the world and tiptoe past a pillaging warrior who is bent on fulfilling the other half of the stereotype? 'Don't notice me, while I use your moment of distraction to swipe your shield.' No! Will has powers, and if he is not going to use them to help someone out of a terrible situation, then what good are they? At that point, the kitten is almost insulting. If Will wasn't going to intervene, why show the impending situation, even obliquely enough for kids to miss it? Ridiculous! That warrior is going to take his new toy and turn back to finish what he intended.
Overall, I am happy with the film. The main character is relate-able to the target audience, the scenery is great, and the action is pretty good, if sometimes a bit too tame or a smidgen repetitive. I am thrilled to have Walden Media on the mission to create youth-centered family entertainment using faithful book adaptations. If even one kid picks up the book to read more about Will and his adventures, than it was worth making the movie, cinematic liberties and all.
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