Please don't spend money on this.

Gripping story with well-crafted characters

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!I'd like to point out first and foremost, that I did not read the books before I've seen this movie. And I'm glad I didn't, because after I've read the books I started to appreciate this movie a lot more for the simple fact that it is in many ways superior to the books, when it comes to enjoyment. Ursula Le Guin's obsession with her character's race and her insistence on painting white males as evil imperialist conquerors is painfully apparent throughout the books, while at the same time, white females get a pass for their gender. The very fact that she made a big deal out of the ethnicity of the available actors just confirms my suspicion that she has issues concerning race and sex, and it permeates her works. The very idea that non-white people need to be written a fantasy world where they are competent, is, quite frankly, incredibly insulting, especially as she endowed most of her black characters with typically white cultural characteristics, and associated their success with those.Furthermore, her books are often very slow paced and boring. To her credit, the characters have significant depth to them, and the lore of Earthsea is intriguing, at times, simply stunning. Reading the book it gives you a vibe of a foreign world full of mysteries and wonder. Le Guin was inspired by Tolkien in many ways, however unlike him, she managed to create world where things don't quite fit together.The main problem of the books, concerning their cohesion and their overall atmosphere is that Le Guinn by virtue of her own upbringing and cultural heritage, wrote the books in an overarching European theme, and applied that to ethnically non-European groups in an effort to prove a point. This attempt to create a more diverse world ends up denigrating all her characters, because her black character's black identity is treated as if it never existed, and they were all "white" inside, while most of the white character's ethnic identity revolves around conquest, willful ignorance and barbarism. The plot of the movie and the books are different on many occasions, in fact, the movie is mashing several of the books together, which has good and bad consequences. The good: The above mentioned awkwardness of cultures and internal incompatibility of characters is NOT present in the movie. In the movies, race is simply not an issue, it isn't brought up, and the actors have very good chemistry. I absolutely loved all the actors, and the only cringey relationship was between the protagonist and his father in the first 20 minutes of the movie, and it's still passable.The movie presents the world of Earthsea and creates a conflict of interest between certain characters that have a slow, ever-escalating tension between them that explodes at the end of the movie. The mythology of the world is barely revealed, and thus it leaves the viewer longing for more. I especially adore the plot at the Tombs of Atuan. The intrigue and backstabbing in the movies is simply far more interesting than the slow, vague plots that we don't ever get to know in the books. The conspiracy between the traitorous priestess and the king is especially good, and it all ties in with the mythology of the afterlife in the world of Eathsea.In closing, the movie ties together the overarching story of several books, while creating an atmosphere of mystery and adventure. The bad: The plot is rushed, and character development suffers. Our protagonist goes from "irresponsible, impatient firebrand" to "considerate and regretful prodigy" in a few minutes. There is no depth to his character, there are no answers as to why he is the way he is, we get no significant background story. Tenar's character is basically reduced to being a dutiful schoolgirl who performs to the maximum. All her inner darkness and guilt-ridden background is simply stripped away from her. She basically becomes your classic damsel in distress apart from her insistence to remain true to her order. There is a very light romance plot that feels kinda out of place, even though you feel like it's destined to be, but it doesn't end up ruining everything.All in all, I am grateful to the creator of this movie, because he introduced me to a fantastic world, and made me explore the literature on which it was based. This is a deeply flawed masterpiece that I just love to return to.

I would like to hold out as a little ray of light amongst the sea of overwhelming negative reviews of the 2004 "Earthsea" miniseries. Yes, I have read LeGuin's "Earthsea" trilogy, and will gladly concede that there are some points of divergence between the books and this television adaptation. As with many things in life, however, all things are relative: this miniseries could have been much worse! The acting is passable, and I found it entertaining to watch, once I accepted that it wasn't going to be minutely faithful to the books. In short: it's a lot better than nothing for now. Watch it and enjoy it for what it is.If you want to see adaptations which have REALLY massacred the original literary plot, try watching (as much as you can stomach) the 2002 version of H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine". (The 1960 version comes highly recommended, however!) And for the worst ever sacrilege done to a sci-fi literary classic, check out 1998's "Nightfall". It's unfortunate that Isaac Asimov was still alive when that abomination came to light.

Yes, I am asking you to forget the books, as wonderful as they are. If you put aside the fact that the director almost seems to parody the Earthsea books (for all the movie relates to them), the film is actually enjoyable. The acting was only mediocre, even with such greats as Danny Glover and Isabella Rosselini to carry it (definitely not their best performances), the script was only mediocre, and, as it's a made-for-TV movie, the special effects were wanting. But, all in all, if you push the books from your mind, it's not that bad.Two things did annoy me quite a bit, however. Number 1: the changing of the title character's name. In the books, his birth name is Duny, his secret name is Ged, and his use-name is Sparrowhawk. In the movie, his birth name and use-name is Ged, while Sparrowhawk becomes his secret name. Duny doesn't even come into the picture.Number 2: Tenar and Ged don't kiss in the "Tombs of Atuan". It isn't until "Tenahu", the final book in the series, where both characters have aged significantly (Ged is quite old, and Tenar has been widowed and has had children that have grown up), that they do so.Overall, however, the movie is not a masterpiece but is quite fun and magical. It's only very loosely based on the books, so don't expect something approved by Ursula LeGuin herself. But, if you're interested in something for a simple Friday night flick, it's definitely something to consider.

The vibrancy and beauty of the Earthsea books is lost on this script. While the author has made a valiant attempt to combine the plots of the first two books of LeGuin's deservedly famous Earthsea series the changes he has made have weakened the story and diminished the character development. Some of the acting in the first few scenes is appalling bad, but stick with it as it gets better as it rolls along. If you are a special effects fan then you will be disappointed. Some of the SFX are rather crude and jarring. So if like me you are a fan of the books put your memory on hold and enjoy this charming unpretentious little tale which reproduces elements of the books and occasionally some of the dialogue. A lesser work but charming none the less.