The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising
Fox-Walden | Release Date: October 5, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
38
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
11
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerGianni Truzzi
The books' magic was rooted in its ties to Arthurian legend and British folklore, grandiose elements which Cunningham and Hodge have stripped. Read full review
67
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The movie has a lot going for it, including wonderful sets and locations - in Bucharest, Romania! - that create a heightened-reality English hamlet with pub, church, manor and shops (make that shoppes!). And the lead actor, Ludwig, registers the growth spurts of the stripling hero with the sensitivity and precision of an emotional seismograph. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneKelley L. Carter
At its best, The Seeker is a pretty vivid fantasy book come-to-life; it does a decent, passable job of adding to the canon of kid-lit flicks. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
This is a reasonable choice for bored tweens - as long as they don't demand too much magic from their movies. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Starts out with promise but staggers under the weight of trying to take on too much. The tone is murky: The story attempts to blend adolescent angst with fantasy adventure, and the result is rather clunky. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterStephen Farber
The film plods along without a lot of excitement or inspiration. Read full review
50
VarietyDennis Harvey
Slick, good-looking, cluttered pic won't please fans of novelist Susan Cooper's original "The Dark Is Rising" sequence. But then, they are mostly grown-ups by now, and this very Hollywood-style adaptation of a very English book is aimed squarely at tweens. Read full review
50
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
Feels passé and lacks a charismatic lead. Too bad Daniel Radcliffe is an only child. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Whether you fully embrace the Harry Potter phenomenon or simply live with it, there's no question that J. K. Rowling is an imaginative story-spinner. The trouble is that she has ruined the field for the legions of the second-rate. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Though stylishly produced, this clumsy parable will probably engender more boredom than sequels. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
A mostly entertaining movie with built-in appeal to young audiences. The good news for parents is that it won't put them to sleep. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyGregory Kirschling
A movie that should've been made shortly after its source material -- Susan Cooper's Newbery winner -- debuted in 1973. As is, it feels entirely too generic to work today. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
Dreary, spectacle-driven adaptation. Read full review
40
Washington PostDesson Thomson
This movie is a particular disappointment. Although The Seeker is in Walden's tradition of positive storytelling, John Hodge's script is guilty of downright goofy utterances on occasion. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyRobert Wilonsky
From its less-than-special effects to its rushed ending, this whole endeavor is a lazy, wasted emasculation of a beloved series deserving of more thoughtful treatment. Guess they have four more books left to get it right. Oh, joy. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle Smith
A kid unversed in other name-brand fantasy movies might go for The Seeker, but in 2007 it's redundant, a puttering Potter without wit and whimsy. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeTy Burr
The producers - Fox Films and the usually reliable Walden Media - have tried to gin up the story for multiplex audiences. They've succeeded in making a movie for no audience at all. Read full review
38
PremiereLaura Repstad
This film should have soared, but doesn't quite get off the ground. Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
Final score: Book 1, Movie 0. Read full review
25
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
It's trying to fill some perceived market void created by the end of "Harry Potter." Read full review
0
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
None of this made a lick of sense to me, nor did it appear to be all that obvious to either the cast or screenwriter Hodge, whose work here feels as though he'd given up in frustration halfway through before deciding to see how far he could push the vaguely Harry Potter-esque shenanigans before getting sacked. Read full review
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