Mythica: The Necromancer

First-off I wanted to give a warning. The ratings suddenly exploded over night with 500 new 10 star ratings and the rating jumped from 6 to 9 stars. Seems a bit suspicious if you ask me.

That said, this film is like a filler episode in the Mythica story. Nothing much happens to progress the story. A bit cool dialogue and a new character keep it somewhat interesting. The fighting scenes and the new quest are far inferior though to the previous film - and this, plus the filler story, is why I didn't enjoy it as much.

If you want to continue following the Mythica universe, you should still watch it, but lower your expectations and don't expect as good a film as the previous one! I think it's justified to call this a filler episode - keep this in mind and you are good to go.

And so the saga continues - a saga I thoroughly enjoy for its beautiful locations and the adrenaline of adventure with obstacles thrown in around every corner. The photography and visuals seem to get better as the series continues. I did miss Adam Johnson (who plays Thane) during the action sequences, due to him being captured in the beginning of the film, and the film is actually a quest to save him. A very determined character, Betylla, is introduced in this film, wonderfully portrayed by Philip Brodie. The evil inside Marek surfaces more regularly as the series continues, again very well played by Melanie Stone.

This was yet another great action adventure film.

I enjoyed watching Mythica: The Necromancer. It escalates the conflict between the forces of good and evil nicely, and it develops the relationships between the characters quite well too. I thought the story was interesting and I did like the new evil character the team has to work with for most of the film. Szorlok finally makes an appearance too.

The negatives are not very many. There were a few story elements that seemed to be taken from The Empire Strikes Back. It hadn't occurred to me before but the comparison seems obvious now. Gojun is Obi-Wan. Marek is Luke, etc. Although I'm taken with Mythica, it's not in the same league as Star Wars. I always seem to find something I'm not entirely happy with in scenes involving Gojun and Marek, the same was true in this one too. The theme song didn't work for me this time either. It's great when they are singing it in Hammerheads near the start of the film but the version at the end feels very flat. It needs to be much more upbeat!

The failings of this film are in production and special effects. With some better editing and budget, it could have scored even higher for me because the story is a good one and the actors do their damnedest. That's what matters most. The bug man ( you'll know him when you see him) was particularly convincing. The final battle was very well written. The excitement was anime level, a genre in which everything is controllable. The story does not make sense without the previous installments and I am purposefully omitting that shortcoming in my rating. I am assuming you've seen the previous films and are up to date on the story. If so, you're in for some fun!

The movie starts pretty weakly, with the choice between killing two people and grabbing a rope versus going on a dangerous quest most certain to be followed by deceit, but I went with it.

There is a new bug controlling character who was pretty interesting, but not nearly explored enough. A smuggler appears later in the film who was also fun, but then he died just when he was becoming interesting and then there are the legions of faceless people dying while all the main characters claim they are righteous and not murderers.

Well, it was fun, although a bit clunky with the story. It made Merrick finally decide her path and didn't squirm from hurting the main characters. All in all, I liked it, but I expect more. They can do better, as they have proved in the past.