Mythica: The Iron Crown

Somehow, the location of the last Dark Spore is known to both Wizard and Dwarf, both wanting to get their hands on it for different purposes. While the wizard keeps the warlock occupied, our team has to not only recover the shard of the Lich King's heart, but also protect it from no less than three different bands trying to get at it.

In a way it was a more fun Mythica, with a lot of fights and running around and Warcraft-like dwarfish machines. However, the details were really what stuck out like a sore thumb. The fighting scenes were choreographed really badly, with people that are obviously not fighters doing clumsy moves. God, I miss Danielle Chuchran! Then the little scenes, where the personality of a character could have shone through, they completely missed the spot!

In the end it was fun, but at every turn that could have been interesting something went really badly. I mean, I understand they cannot do focus groups on the result and reshoot the bad scenes, it's not that kind of budget, but when they shoot them, don't actors and directors feel something is off? See the scene where they make a deal, the bad guy gives their item first and the good guys go through with the deal, even when the fate of the world hangs in the balance. And the evil guys. They could be so much fun! The warlock has no sense of humor, he only wishes to kill everything. Why? What's the point?

Anyway, bottom line is that I am amazed how little the show improves with each iteration. I can accept almost everything, from bad acting, directing, editing, sound, CGI... which funny enough are rare in Mythica, they do a good job with what they have. But I can't really be comfortable with a lack of progress. Whatever you do, guys, try to learn from it at least a little!

First off, the first three were light-hearted in a charming but serious way, this fourth is a comedy of a less serious nature, from a different director.

Whilst they therefore don't match well in terms of continuity of feeling, if you can put that behind you and feel this as separate from the others, yet connected, it will work and can be enjoyed, so long as you don't actually mind a sillier version of the genre. Perhaps for some that may mean allowing a little time to elapse between seeing 3 and 4, and for others just entering with the right expectations about it, much as one may appreciate seeing how an artist can paint a subject in more than one interesting way.

So I enjoyed it, maybe you will too. I did prefer the more serious charming form of the earlier episodes, but appreciated the variety this gave too.

The fourth installment and a new director. Almost the entire film is set on a huge Mad Max-ish wagon. The visual effects are better than the previous films, but unfortunately the film is more comical. I enjoyed Dagen's comical remarks in the previous films and him being the film's comic relief, but it is taken to an entirely different level in this film - from all the characters. I must be honest it doesn't suit Marek's character. Eve Mauro was very bad as antagonist Admiral Borlund Hess and turned the film into a slapstick spectacle. I also missed the awesome music of the previous films.

Nevertheless, it was still an entertaining fantasy adventure.

The first film, 'Mythica: A Quest for Heroes', was not a bad movie but with some major debits and not an awful lot special about it. It was watchable if on the mediocre side if anything. Its first sequel 'Mythica: The Darkspore' quality-wise is about the same (though with a couple of improvements), watchable with nothing to get angry or excited about. Didn't care for 'Mythica: The Necromancer'.

'Mythica: The Iron Crown' is an improvement over the mediocre previous film 'Mythica: The Necromancer', and generally it's one of the better entries in the series. By all means, 'Mythica: Necromancer' is not terrible, it has its moments and good points and doesn't make one angry, but at the same time it's not so special either. Average is more like it, with a large number of big debits.

A few decent points here. It's nicely photographed generally and more focused in terms of camera work and the scenery is sweeping and boasts some colour and atmosphere. Costumes and sets allow one to get suitably, if not fully, immersed in the fantasy world that is being portrayed.

Not all the acting is bad. Melanie Stone is good in the lead role, and the character is engaging and well-rounded. .

'Mythica: The Iron Crown' music score is in places stirring and fits reasonably well. The humour is much less awkward here thankfully, sure there were times where it wasn't really needed but it's better placed and its tongue-in-cheek nature is actually amusing, even with a character that could have been obnoxious if executed wrongly.

However, the special effects do look ropey, the worst of them distractingly bad. The action has gotten more clumsily executed with each 'Mythica' film, being unexciting and under-choreographed and it all looks too safe. Some sloppy editing and lack of interaction in the scenes featuring any action are further disadvantages, not being more apparent in the big fight towards the end which was rushed in storytelling which hurt the coherence of it, terribly clumsy in staging and pedestrian in choreography.

Regarding the script, it's still a bit trite and could have explained things much more, things can be cheesy and vague. The direction is unimaginative. The story can feel simplistic and too thin, not doing an awful lot new with a not too original premise.

Some of the pacing is a little bumpy and momentum is variable, though mostly more flowing and tighter than 'The Necromancer'. The characters are never annoying, but only the main character is properly interesting, the rest are there with shades of a likable personality but little development and some are not always needed. The rest of the acting is nothing to write home about.

Wrapping it up, average but not bad. 5/10 Bethany Cox

The story is really compelling. I thought most of the acting was really good. It's a really ambitious project and this one actually looks really slick.

I like this so much because a bunch of indies decided to try to make a cool fantasy film series and they've really pulled it off. The project itself gives me hope.

(You need to watch them all in order.)