L'apprenti de Merlin

While the original mini-series was more charming and quirky than an actual Arthurian epic, "Merlin's Apprentice" doesn't even rise to that level. Don't misunderstand me...I have a genuine fondness for "Merlin" and own the DVD, watching it at least once a year. But "Merlin" had a tone and a theme that make it a pleasure to watch.

"Merlin's Apprentice" has competent cinematography, good lighting, decent editing, competent sound, and a lot of other qualities that are too often overlooked in recent films.

The script and direction, however, leave a lot to be desired. The story itself really does seem to have come from an after-school special. There's a heavy-handed politically-correct attitude that is definitely intended to teach kids some lessons about life as it should be. (The character of Brian is an egregious example of this, and it is an example of outright pandering to the PC crowd.) One thing that is sadly lacking is any sense of grandeur. The magic barely rises to the level of parlor tricks, making objects fly around the room or stopping an arrow in flight.

The direction of Wu leaves a lot to be desired as well. The actors are capable of much more, but Wu fails to bring it out for the camera.

Overall, though, it's worth watching, especially if you enjoyed the original.

Just finished watching it.. The movie is pretty weak. The original is far better. Sam Neil is barely in this and only in flashbacks. The unknown cast is passable, but nothing in this movie seems to come into focus. Miranda Richardson is really starting to show her age. She's playing the Lady of the Lake character and seems as if she is sleepwalking thru the part. All the characters are very subdued, no passion or emotion is here.. I was expecting this film to contain a lot of magic, however quickly realized there would be none. The film defiantly is lacking the "magical" feel of the first one. Magic takes the back seat to a boring plot. And I think that is really where the movie fails. Now this movie is only 1hr 32mins, so there is far less time to develop anything compared to the 3+ hour running time of the first film. However without Sam Neils endearing performance and and such a throw out plot, this movie is a poor sequel. I would recommend you skip it, or fast forward to the Sam Neil parts.

Sam Neill sleepwalks through this ultimate collection of uninteresting clichés.

I loved the original, and found this sequel quite by accident. Nothing could compare to the first, but this one stands well on its own. I found it hard to follow at first, but if you stick with it, it makes sense. Sam and Miranda are refreshing in their roles which have received a bit of an overhaul. Garwin Sanford (Narim-Stargate SG-1,Simon-Stargate Atlantis) and John Reardon do a really good job in their roles. The pig was funny. It reminds me of the horse in the first movie. Jack's Arcimedes? Who knows. True this one does not match the time line of the first one completely, but if you are familiar with the legend of Merlin, and you have a lot of fantasy creativity you can accept the changes with some stride. Hollywood does not do things in proper order with all the pieces fitting, I learned that long ago and have stopped expecting it. Take this movie for what it is, a unique romp in the world of an exceptional wizard, wisely played by Sam Neill.

I didn't actually think this movie would be that good, but I'm a sucker for anything Arthurian, so I put watched it. It didn't start so well, but I find it hard to ever stop watching a movie halfway through, and it turned around. It wasn't totally clichéd where you know from the beginning everyone is going to live happily ever after; at times it was even slightly morbid.

And it wasn't your average Camelot film; it was what happened after the fall of Arthur and the round table, and trying to find out why it did happen.

All in all it's a good film and if you like all things Camelot, like myself, watch it.