Truly Dreadful Film

just watch it!

A lot of fun.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

So I found this movie languishing in the 5 dollar bin at the local disc peddler. I would guess they are still trying make their 30 million in 1990s adjusted dollars budget back. In all fairness this is in a sense the most perfect cable/TV movie mini series I have seen , in regards to that now fairly past its time format. The acting cast certainly was not bad , veteran TV personalities like Rutger Hauer and stars like Sam Neill. Even the up and coming in Helena Bonham Carter and Lena Headey found early work here. The writing is probably the best part of the feature , however that being said if you are Not into Arthur lore like this , this movie is way to nerd rage on its plot about it. Not for the casual viewer. It biographically , in the sense of it being a mythical legend like say Dracula , does a great job putting together the story lines of Merlin's life , and very much from Merlin's point of view as in most cases he is a part and not the center of the story. We follow along from the pagans origins of Merlin's creation , to his development and rejection of magical gifts in youth , to his compromises , failures and his disappointments with humanity. All the motivations and aspects of the character are given great depth some times at a cost of marble hardened film flow. Certainly , will reside in cult status to the lovers of this brand of lore. For the average film screen-er I can say there are worse ways to waste a slow day.

Mab(Miranda Richardson, who pwns hard as a witch(when doesn't she? She was the only thing that made that Kristin Kreuk Snow White flick watchable)... if one does continually feel like offering her something for that strep throat; she also does well portraying her sister, The Lady of the Lake, who accepts their approaching fate), Queen of The Old Ways(paganism), finds her existence(and that of all of magic) threatened by the invading force of Christianity(which is sadly presented/hinted at as somehow inherently superior... it's actually the one thing where this takes sides, as it otherwise does an excellent job of highlighting grey areas, with no distinctly and purely good or bad guys), and she creates the titular wizard(Sam Neill, who brings to life the hopeful and determined half-human) to win. It backfires, however, as he vows to defeat her, and a decades long battle between two practitioners of the dark arts ensues. This is a retelling of the legend of King Arthur, told through the perspective of Merlin(with his own love, Isabella Rossellini, who you, yourself fall for), and it fits in much more(people, locations, events) of the original story(and I understand this is pretty accurate to it), and a lot of the elements really come together. The all-star cast are all well-chosen(if Lena Headey, in her one role where she isn't a strong, independent female, is given relatively little to do), with Helena Bonham Carter(looking very Goth, even pre-Burtoning) as the dangerous Morgan Le Fey(who wants to take the throne), a vicious Rutger Hauer as a tyrannical king, a not only obnoxious(...it's the best he can do?) Martin Short as Frik the gnome(who you genuinely do find yourself becoming sympathetic to, as with a solid chunk of the fictional people in this), and of course, the booming voice of James Earl Jones as an ancient living mountain. They tend to deliver marvelous performances. While this is three hours long, it keeps you watching, with great pacing. This is driven by its character studies, the interpersonal relationships, the drama stemming, for example, from tradition(lineage deciding who reigns, etc.). If one removed all the supernatural aspects(that are enhanced by the meaning behind them) or replaced them with manipulation and technology, there would still be a wealth of plot and well-earned moments. The battles aren't bad. And unfortunately, we are thusly out of the realm of positives for this production. Filming can get really strange(I swear, at one point, the cameraman goes completely off the reservation, opting to follow around a flower petal caught in the wind... for a few minutes straight), and frankly never goes above the level of average. It's where you can really tell that this *was* made for television. Another aspect is the weak conclusion(where they really shoehorn in what they wanted(it shouldn't have been a happy one, I guess that's Hallmark's contribution), following its anticlimactic ending(which, frankly, could easily have come much earlier, nothing really happened late in this that enabled it to reach this point). The dialog ranges, and it certainly has its moments... the worst parts are without a doubt when they break the illusion by using modern sayings and pop culture references. Why do such a thing in this, as it otherwise entirely plants itself in the realm of fantasy and the days of yore. And what in the world was up with that brief offensive Chinese stereotype? Was that even a joke? This has that glorious early CGI that we now, at most, smile overbearingly at. Did they just not realize that, just because it's computer-driven, it still behooves you to mask effects that do not hold up to scrutiny? Note that I'm not accusing only this of such, it ran rampant after full, 3D animation became possible. But hey, you can't write "questionable FX" without the word "quest". There is a moderate amount of disturbing, bloody and violent content in this, as well as a little sexuality(not graphic). The DVD comes with the interesting, informational and amusing 19 minute behind-the-scenes featurette The Magical Making of Merlin and a small Photo Gallery. I recommend this to fans of the myth. 7/10

"I really enjoy this tale of King Arthur from Merlin's point of view. Much of this at times is based upon who invented King Arthur in his History of the kings of Britain Geoffrey of Monmouth Shire. His work was considered the definitive of Britain's history for over 600 years, even though when he found gaps in the information on that history he added what he wanted and derived King Arthur from an amalgamation of different Celtic kings that staved off the Saxon invasion for many years. Sam Neil is very effective as Merlin and Miranda Richardson gives an outstanding performance as well. King Vortigern is wonderfully played by Rutger Hauer an actor I really like and steals any scene he is in. Every character is wonderfully played and although the effects in the film are cheesy by today's standard remember this came out on TV 1998 and CG was in its infancy and cost way more then than now. Never the less this tale is one of the better drawing from all sources including Geoffrey's, and worth the watch. The scenery is splendid and the battles are effective and fairly bloody at times. I haven't watched the sequel but I have been told not to. Merlin himself as played by Sam Neil shows range of emotion and charm and a subtle sense of power that he both uses and possibly fears. Queen Mab as played by Miranda Richardson is both beautiful and dangerous and has some subtle underlying humor to her performance. Martin Short is remarkable as Frik. I also love the scene where Queen Mab visits King Vortigern and he brings her onto his lap in a almost romantic sense and her reaction on her face is both perplexing and she seems almost powerless in his hands. Rutger Hauer again here stealing the scene from an award winning actress. The complexity between the coming one God of Christianity versus the pagan ways of old as an theme here is well done, because that is what happened and played well by all on screen. I think this is a great movie filled with some humor, love, betrayal, battles won and lost of both the physical and mental including the spiritual. There is not many TV movies with kind of heart and soul and is worth the price of admission."

This film was a 4 hour film. I watched it hoping it had a better ending then the previous 3 hours and 58 minutes. I thought the plot of the story was so fragmented. To many so called good men going bad. Same scenario, lust for some other man's wife or girlfriend. There were really no heroes,no one that had honor and nothing to come away with but a lot of fighting. There seemed to be no good against evil like Lord of the Rings. It was evil against the lesser evil. Lord of the Rings had fantasy, fighting, ugly characters orcs etc. Lord of the Rings had soldiers that were courageous, loyal, honorable, fearful, faithful,love and more. Lord of the Rings had meaning. it had good against evil and the good people always resisting even when they were scared and knew that little chance to win. Merlin had people that could not be trusted even valiant names known in other medieval stories. Merlin wasn't a good magician either, so much for magic I guess. This movie also mentions Christians and makes them out to be just as bad as the evil people. The acting wasn't bad but like Mab the evil woman it is time to forget her and it.