Based on how often the works of Adam Sandler spend hovering around Netflix’s Top 10 list, the streaming service’s most popular titles are not always the best, with further evidence being provided by The Last Days of American Crime and steamy Polish thriller 365 Dni both taking the top spot in recent months, even though both movies suffered the ignominy of a 0% Rotten Tomatoes score.
The latest not-so-great title to find a new lease of life on Netflix is the forgotten fantasy blockbuster Seventh Son, which nobody cared about in the slightest when it first hit theaters back in February 2015. The $95 million would-be blockbuster was given the green light at a time when every YA book series was getting the big screen treatment as Hollywood seemingly turned all of them into a movie in an effort to capitalize on the success of Harry Potter, The Twilight Saga and The Hunger Games, the only three that actually launched a successful franchise.
It wasn’t exactly plain sailing for Seventh Son, either, which was originally set to be released in February 2013 but sat on the shelf for two full years after the visual effects company went bust during post-production before Warner Bros. ended up backing out of distributing the movie, forcing Legendary to reach a new deal with Universal.
Despite a star-studded cast that featured Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, Ben Barnes, Kit Harington, Alicia Vikander and Djimon Honsou, all of them are wasted in a tediously formulaic story that’s the textbook definition of paint-by-numbers fantasy filmmaking. Seventh Son tanked at the box office after earning less than $115 million globally and director Segei Bodrov hasn’t worked since, but having been in the Top 10 all week now, at least Netflix subscribers seem to be enjoying it.
