The Covenant - Review

Discuss this movie on our message board!

Length: 97 min

Rated: PG-13

Distributor: Sony Pictures

Release Date: 2006-09-08

Starring: Steven Strait, Sebastian Stan, Laura Ramsey, Taylor Kitsch, Toby Hemingway, Jessica Lucas, Chace Crawford

Directed by Renny Harlin

Produced by J. S. Cardone, Gary Lucchesi, Tom Rosenberg

Written by J. S. Cardone

Visit the movie's Official Site!

Reviewed by Scott Gwin : 2006-09-09 17:59:20

I can wrap The Covenant up for you in one simple sentence: it’s a movie only a teenage girl could love. The story, characters, action sequences – anything that might make the movie worth watching – have all been whittled away to make room for painfully cheesy heart-throb dialogue and barely-clad twenty-somethings strutting around pretending to be teenagers. There’s plenty in this sloppy little supernatural flick to bore anyone else to tears, but slap-happy teens obsessed with mind numbing shows like "One Tree Hill" may very well herald this as the best movie of the year.

Harry Potter meets The Craft in the style of “The OC”, The Covenant tells the story of four boys who have received “The Power”. No one knows where The Power came from. Thank goodness for that as I don’t think I could have endured the extra ten minutes they would have spent explaining it. It is always passed along family lines, from father to the eldest son (why are mystic ancient powers always so misogynistic?) and begins to manifest itself when they turn 13. This Power doesn’t fully mature until they “ascend” on their 18th birthday, an experience that looks identical to what happens when one immortal kills another in Highlander.

Besides gracing the teenage boys with the bodies of Chippendale dancers, The Power grants them the ability to do anything they want, which usually manifests itself in the form of lifting women’s skirts or hurling beer kegs at each other. However, like the dark side of the force, the power has an addicting seductive side. Using it makes you want to do even more, but each usage causes damage to the user’s body, eventually leading to premature death. There’s some business in there about the families and witch hunts in the 1600s, a covenant and some Book of Damnation too. Better exploration of those aspects could have made the movie more interesting but would have required the audience to actually think. Heaven forbid.

Caleb (Steven Strait) is the oldest and most responsible of the four and the most conscientious about using The Power. He and the others attend a private academy where the students spend more time partying than studying. Incredibly enough, all four boys are members of the swim team giving them ample opportunity to wander around in their speedos. The school year takes a twist when two new transfer students arrive on campus. One is the lovely Sarah (Laura Ramsey) who steals Caleb’s heart. The other is Chase (Sebastian Stan), yet another swimmer with The Power. The boys discover Chase is a long lost descendant of a line they thought had died during the witch hunts. He has arrived with a hunger for more, looking to steal Caleb’s share of The Power.

I’d like to believe that some of the actors have a genuine talent for their craft, but they’ll never have a chance to show it until they stop taking roles where they’re cast mainly for their physique. The toughest part of Ramsey’s role was not showing too much during a completely irrelevant shower scene (gotta keep that PG-13 rating), and the major requirements for the five guys is that they can look good in swimwear while hurling imaginary spheres of The Power at each other. During the final “climactic” battle sequence between Caleb and Chase, all they have to do is grit their teeth and wave their arms around in the hopes that the special effects somehow make it look less silly. Unfortunately that doesn’t happen and the whole thing comes off looking like a reject from a Mortal Kombat movie.

As the movie neared what I prayed were the credits, it had one last bomb to drop: an open ending that promises not just a sequel, but a franchise of films. Given the financial success of other teen-dream slosh like John Tucker Must Die and She’s The Man, there’s no question that if this one does as well there’s bound to be more on the way. At least if they carry this into the guys’ college years, the actors might be closer to the right age for their characters.

Latest Movie Reviews:

Thumbnails Gallery for The Covenant

Social Bookmark This Article

Blinklist

Del.icio.us

Digg

Furl

Slashdot

Facebook

StumbleUpon

Yahoo!

Propeller

Comment on “The Covenant”

Note: This website is not intended for use by minors. The views expressed in this comments section are not necessarily our own. Comments that we deem to be poorly worded, off topic, or threatening will not be published. For free, uncensored discussion visit our forum.

Jaysen Hutchinson Says:
January 10th, 2007 at 13:52
I think the movie was great, despite the whole Craft/Teen movie stereotypes. Then again, I'm a descendent of one of the families persecuted in Haverhill. And whaddya know? The movie was pretty accurate in describing the way things work. l8r
-catch you on the dreamside

Adam Calhoun Says:
February 20th, 2007 at 00:02
I believe that the movie was pretty good. Yes it was somewhat like a teen movie, but thats fine. It did pretty well in the box office, and I hope there is a sequel. And I dont believe they needed to explain too much more. I liked the action scenes and the music that went along with it. Overall it was pretty good. It left a couple flaws but I believe that the sequel will be greater and fix whatever problems they had in the 1st one.

Kasey83191 Says:
April 9th, 2007 at 12:42
I enjoyed, believe it or not. I am a wiccan, so this movie provided me with alot of humor. But, I have to agree on the poor dialouge and the bad acting skills of the leads. I think they just decided to chose the guys with nice bodies to impress people to go and see it (teenage girls). Anyway, yeah, it was good, enough for me to buy the DVD.

Nicole Says:
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:59
i loved the movie!! i thought it was great!
Scott Gwin was totally right in saying only teenage girls would like it. :)

wicked Says:
January 12th, 2008 at 14:58
oh yes, only teenage girls could like it. they sure did make a good job. cant wait for the sequel.

Bianca Says:
January 16th, 2008 at 00:30
the story's great, but the way it was told in the film was a little disappointing...Like it was rushed or somethin'. There was a lot of irrelevant scenes in it. However, I still loved it! I do hope there's a sequel to this...!

mysic Says:
January 29th, 2008 at 13:53
i thought the movie was great sure it was a bit tatty round the edges but what film isn't the boys just acted like teenagers who think they can do whatever they wanted whioch they ere (to some extent)

Scott b a h8tr Says:
February 9th, 2008 at 16:02
Hey I happend to love the movie. And that is so hypocritical. Most movies with girls as the main character. Heck even minor characters focus more on looks than anything. And they almost always wear revealing clothing for no aparent reason. At least being on the swim team gives a reason. Scott is just a hater!
This movie has potential and I will be first in line for a sequel.

Jaclyn Says:
June 17th, 2008 at 23:08
My god, it seems like there isn't a single good review for this movie out there, doesn't it? I, for one, enjoyed it. Yes, the the plot was rushed, I admit that, a few more things should have been...not necessarily explained... but at least mentioned once or twice before they became important.
I don't particularly enjoy movies where the only girl is a dewy and wimpy girly-girl who the main character falls in love with, but where you gonna' find a movie not like that?
As for the looks, the movie could have survived without it, but for the way it was written, it was relevant to the plot to have well-built guys. And give the acting a break, I've seen much worse.
Really, the main thing I've got the say is blame Renny Harlin for not making a 'needed this, was missing that' movie out of a story line that could have been so much better.

Back to The Covenant

The Covenant - Review

Social Bookmark This Article

Comment on “The Covenant”

Leave a Reply