Merlin Reviews

Merlin Magic

This movie is a fantastic family rendition of what you expected medieval england to be about (without the full gore)all the family enjoyed it immensley - Miranda Richardson has never played a part quite so evil and the full cast were very convincing. Martin Short plays a character called frek quite scary to look at but so funny. would recommend this to all who are interested in King Arthur and the mystery surrounding Merlin

Excellent telling of the Arthurian legend

I remember seeing this when it was first on television one Christmas a few years ago. I loved it then, I love it now.

The superb cast gels together with a well written script, giving us an insight into Merlin's life before and around the story we all know of King Arthur and the Knights of Camelot. The makeup and "magic" effects are truly breathtaking.

As for the characters, I feel that Sam Neill has done justice to Merlin rather than portray him as mythical or ficticious, he comes across as believable and involving. Miranda Richardson as Queen Mab gives a fine performance, dark and mysterious yet

Comic talent is provided in abundance by the excellent Martin Short as Frick, who also shows that he can act, and act well.

Highly recommended for all the family.

Rubbish

Worst film I have ever seen

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Merlin - Good, but should be Cert 12

This is a good film and certainly warrents much of the good feedback from other reviewers, but it must have just scraped under the wire for Certificate PG.

Sex & Nudity - the implied rape of Lady Igraine by Uther, the incest between Morgan Le Fey and Arthur, the adultery between Guinerere and Lancelot (with visual images).

Violence & Gore - the battles conclude with large quantities of blood on the ground and the wounded being dragged off the field. Then there is the final battle between Arthur and Mordred focusing on Excaliber pushed through Mordreds chest (back and front shots).

Yes, these are all part of the story, and yes it is my 'fault' that we sat down with my 8 and 10 year olds to view the film... but even fast forwarding parts still left my husband and I feeling very uncomfortable. All these issues are probably better discussed with children rather than introducing them through the medium of a 'family' film.

If you want to introduce your children to the story of Arthur and/or Merlin, tell them the story first or watch the ever chearful film Camelot!

Excelllent!

Must see version of the story of Merlin.

Magic!

I can't believe that some reviewers found this film poor. It is a great film (well 2-part TV miniseries actually) suitable for the whole family. The acting is gripping, and the production and special effects are incredible considering the film was made 7 years ago. It has not aged at all.

Good but not Excalibur

I am a fan of all the Hallmark/HBO made-for-TV films. However, whereas The Odyssey, Jason and the Argonauts, Hercules and Gulliver's Travels all filled a void where there has been no major (or in JatA's case, good) film versions, unfortunately this was always going to be compared to John Boorman's legendary Excalibur. This made it an impossible job on the scale of making a new Lord of the Rings in the next 20 years. Its a good effort but not close to touching Excalibur as the definitive Arthurian work.

[Highly rated reviewer]

A disappointing children's account of the Arthurian legend which does however have some redeeming qualities.

Merlin (1998) is a miniseries which is surprisingly accurate in it's portrayal of the Arthur legend, that is the legend, and not the so called historical basis which is redundantly non-mystical. However, with the budget set by Hallmark and the producers et al, the series - consisting of 2 feature length episodes - tell's the arthurian legend with what seem like patchy SFX these days, bad acting, producing a childrens tale VS a Catherine Cookson TV play.

In this versian it portrays Arthur as really a background figure, a child prodigy controlled and impelled by Merlin. I have always pictured Arthur as a wise middle-aged king - a portrayal of the character by Sean Connery in First Knight (1995) springs to mind. Of course the King Arthur legend is symbolically resonant with those of Jesus, Aslan and other sun-child king myths but I personally prefer more mature representations mixed with the occult and mystical i,e, Excalibur (1981). Similarly I always saw Merlin as an old-wizard - resonant with figures such as Moses, Gandalf, Dumbledore etc - who, although older in years, remained magically youthful in presence, who entered the Arthurian legend at an older age, in Zarathustra (Nietzschian) fashion.

There is often rather poor dialogue throughout the series, and some choice of actors are literally for comedic relief and disney aesthetic. Martin Short puts on a ridiculous english accent to rival David Wenham's in 300 (2007), and is cringe worthy in the role. God knows I love Rutger Hauer in mostly everthing he's done, but he's out of place in this mini-series, and doesn't relinquish his American accent sticking out like a sore thumb like Ray Winston portraying a cockney Henry the VIII, or Tom Cruise portraying a nazi spy.

There are redeeming elements in the series however including an all too brief appearance by an aged Gielgud. Helena Bonham Carter portrays Morgan Le Fey brilliantly in a role strangely resonant with her future role in Harry Potter. Again, another actor I like is Isabella Rossellini, but her role suffers from poor voiceover editing of her younger self in episode I, and the film of course doesn't contain the quality of aging SFX as seen in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008).

Episode II is clearly better, as episode I features somewhat Lynchesque dwarve huddling shots and Merlin's talking horse 'Mr Ed', most of it is however like watching a fantastical children's program. Essentially this is a children's account of the Arthurian legend, but it is important to note that this miniseries somewhat set a benchmark for the future Harry Potter films and other such fantastical productions.

Bad script, bad sets, bad acting.

This is one of the poorest films I've seen in a long time.

Fantastic

This is a great film-Not just for children any adult will find this a great night in! If it's a little long for one sitting it's convienently broken into 2 parts,it kept me glued to the screen for the entire 3 hours!!

Truly worthy of 5*