RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / The Seeker
The Seeker

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

The Seeker (2007)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
13 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:89

Fresh:12

Rotten:77

Average Rating:3.9/10

Consensus: The magic of the book is lost in translation with The Seeker, due to its clumsy plot and lack of heart.

Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for fantasy action and some scary images.

Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Theatrical Release:19-10-2007

Synopsis: Based on Susan Cooper's 1973 Newbery Award-winning fantasy novel, THE DARK IS RISING, director David L. Cunningham's 2007 film follows the adventures of young protagonist Will Stanton (Alexander... Based on Susan Cooper's 1973 Newbery Award-winning fantasy novel, THE DARK IS RISING, director David L. Cunningham's 2007 film follows the adventures of young protagonist Will Stanton (Alexander Ludwig), who discovers that he is an immortal being connected with an ancient struggle between good and evil. Aided by fellow "Old Ones," including Miss Greythorne (Frances Conroy) and Merriman Lyon (Ian McShane), Will, an American transplant in England, must face off against shadowy forces bent on world domination, most notably represented by the black-clad Rider (Christopher Eccleston). Taking a different approach to Cooper's revered novel, THE SEEKER, actually drawn from the second book in THE DARK IS RISING sequence, will certainly raise the eyebrows of ardent fans of the series, particularly given screenwriter John Hodge's considerable alterations to the original story. (For example, Will is American instead of British.) For those unattached to Cooper's story, however, THE SEEKER will likely prove to be an enjoyable escapist film, with Conroy (SIX FEET UNDER), McShane (DEADWOOD), and Eccleston (HEROES) adding credibility to a largely unknown cast that is anchored by the likable Ludwig. Presented by Walden Media, the company behind the CHRONICLES OF NARNIA screen adaptations, THE SEEKER may not please Cooper purists, but it will undoubtedly entertain those looking for a diverting fantasy movie. [More]

Starring: Alexander Ludwig, Christopher Eccleston, Ian McShane, Frances Conroy

Starring: Alexander Ludwig, Christopher Eccleston, Ian McShane, Frances Conroy, Jonathan Jackson

Director: David L. Cunningham

Director: David L. Cunningham
Screenwriter: John Hodge
Producer: Marc Platt
Composer: Christophe Beck
Studio: 20th Century Fox

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Trailer
    >
    Interrogation Room
    >
    We Are The Old Ones
    >
    Even The Smallest Light Shines In The Dark
    >
  • Will Meets The Rider
    >
    Production Design
    >
    Flooding The Manor
    >
1 - 4 of 7

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for The Seeker

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

The excessive strobe effects may trigger epileptic fits, but the movie itself will induce narcolepsy.

Full Review Source: thelondonpaper | comment Comment
10/19/07
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
thelondonpaper

An orgy of portents that runs out of oomph.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph | comment Comment
10/19/07
Tim Robey
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

By Americanising the hero and grotesquely distorting the plot, they can only alienate the fan-base and confuse the newcomer.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
10/19/07
Robert Hanks
Robert Hanks
Independent

A moderate Potter-teen fantasy about an American kid who comes to little old England with his family (dad's on some kind of academic posting) to find that he is the boy-king leader of a group of supernatural warriors.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/19/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An uncanny and unholy blend of The Fifth Element, The Sixth Sense and The Seventh Seal.

Full Review Source: Financial Times | comment Comment
10/19/07
Karl French
Karl French
Financial Times

The Dark is Rising is one of those awful sorcery tales where a spotty young boy (Alexander Ludwig) suddenly gets to save the Earth from supernatural creeps such as Christopher Eccleston.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
10/19/07
James Christopher
James Christopher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Not very likely to seize that Potter market, this is a disappointing film that starts out okay but goes rapidly downhill, thanks to rudimentary characterisation and storytelling that's designed more to accommodate gratuitous action.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
10/19/07
Daniel Etherington
Daniel Etherington
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A terrible bodge.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
10/19/07
Paul Arendt
Paul Arendt
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Cheap-looking, mostly cheerless stuff.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
10/19/07
Total Film

A total dud.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
10/19/07
Trevor Johnston
Trevor Johnston
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Imagine Time Bandits confined to a boring Berkshire village and drained of colour, and you can see why this pig’s ear of Susan Cooper’s well-received children’s story went belly-up at the US box office.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
10/19/07
Elliott Noble
Elliott Noble
Sky Movies

Off-the-shelf teen fantasy not likely to satisfy the post-Potter/LOTR crowd but guaranteed to enrage fans of the source novel. The newly added quasi-religious overtones don’t help either.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
10/19/07
Helen OHara
Helen OHara
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The script is rather bland, the action sequences are extremely dull and it lacks a big effects-heavy set-piece.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/18/07
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Jeffrey Gantz
Jeffrey Gantz
Boston Phoenix

a lot of shouting offered up as an ineffectual camouflage to the picture's complete lack of ambition.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
07/01/08
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

Sloppy, lifeless storytelling so limp it guarantees no sequels will be made.

Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
03/12/08
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
DVDTalk.com

The Seeker is great-looking and well-acted, but unlike the Potter books and films, there's no sense that it's about anything more than the throwing-balls-of-smoke and mind-melding that we see onscreen.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
01/10/08
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

It's important, when criticising some of the more clichéd elements here - the dark versus the light, the Tolkein parallels, the quests - to bear in mind that this film is aimed at older children, not your average jaded film critic.

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
12/07/07
Amber Wilkinson
Amber Wilkinson
Eye for Film

Disappointing adaptation of a great kids' book.

Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | comment Comment
10/22/07
Carrie R. Wheadon
Carrie R. Wheadon
Common Sense Media

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
10/20/07
Brian Marder
Brian Marder
Hollywood.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
all

Latest News for The Seeker

March 17, 2008: RT on DVD: I Am Legend Offers (Better) Alternate Ending on DVD
If you loved Will Smith's I Am Legend up until its final chapters, you're in luck; a decidedly different denouement can be found on the special edition DVD, our top pick for you... More...

February 25, 2008: Amazon Partners With Fox for First Foray Into Movie Biz
Not satisfied with being your one-stop shop for nearly everything under the sun, Amazon.com is moving into the movie business. More...

January 10, 2008: Box Office Guru Preview: Captain Jack and Captain Morgan Set Sail
For the first time in three weeks, studios will pack a Friday with plenty of new releases as four films open or expand nationwide giving the box office chart a major shakeup.... More...

October 04, 2007: Critical Consensus: Heartbreak Needs Discipline, Jane Worth Perusing, Seeker Reeks
This week at the movies, we've got honeymooners (The Heartbreak Kid, starring Ben Stiller and Michelle Monhagan), teenage heroes (The Seeker, starring Alexander Ludwig),... More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
68% 68% Funny People
25% 25% Four Christmases
45% 45% Shorts

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Prince of Persia

Prince of Persia

Your first look at the swashbuckler.

Vampires

Vampires

We rank cinema's bloodsuckers.

Avatar

Avatar

The full trailer for Cameron's epic.

2012

2012

12 facts about Emmerich's disaster flick.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Natalie Portman Says Kat Denning Is in Thor Source: MTV
16
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
10
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
108
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
64
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
165
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
129
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
97
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
75
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
56
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
54
  • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
50
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
32
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
7
  • Ho, ho, ho! It's RT's Great Big Gift Guide!
0
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
7
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
19
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The Seeker at Rotten Tomatoes
  • The Seeker at IGN
  • The Seeker at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.