Trailer Tuesday: The Dark is Rising

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Now I'm a big fan of family orientated fantasy films. I'm really looking forward to the second Narnia film, Prince Caspian (due for release next year), as well as The Golden Compass this Christmas.

I'll admit I'm not familiar with the Susan Cooper books on which The Dark is Rising is based, but the film adaptation seems to have over-stepped that boundary into generic kiddie crowd-pleaser a little too far. There seems to be very little on offer for adult viewers.

Take the cliched plot synopsis, for example:
Based on the acclaimed novel by Susan Cooper, THE DARK IS RISING is the first film adaptation of the author's acclaimed The Dark Is Rising Sequence. The film tells the story of Will Stanton, a young man who learns he is the last of a group of warriors who have dedicated their lives to fighting the forces of the Dark. Traveling back and forth through time, Will discovers a series of clues which lead him into a showdown with forces of unimaginable power. With the Dark once again rising, the future of the world rests in Will's hands.

And this trailer makes the kiddie-focus look even worse...

The Dark is Rising is set for release in the US on 5 October 2007.

Comments

Gareth said…
Hmmm, can't see the video at work, but it's kind of sad that they chose to phrase the marketing like that. Remember that you could describe the Narnia and Potter books in a pretty similar manner without really capturing anything of their styles.

The Dark Rising was really well done, I remember decently adult plotlines and more of a focus on character development than action. And the Old Ones weren't warriors trained to fight the darkness, they were sort of humans++, it was more that they were aware of the Dark and resisted it's attempts at corruption.

For example one of the themes is that as Will becomes an immortal Old One he starts to move further away from humanity, at times he seems a normal kid and at others he is something more, something alien, unknowable and distant. It was really well done. And the mythological aspect was dark, more Pans Labyrinth than Narnia. Really hope they don't sell the series short.
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