Rating: 
Summary: This is a great movie!
Review: This movie might not have very good special effects, but the plot and great acting makes up for it. I am a fan of the King Arthur and Merlin stories, and this one might not really be one of the traditional tellings of their stories, but it was very creative and well done, and it is quite refreshing. All of the actors did a great job, but I think that Miranda Richardson as Queen Mab was really the best of the lot. She has this odd voice, which you might not like at first, but then it goes so perfectly with her character, that it ends up sounding really cool. This is one of my favorite movies ever, and it is one my whole family enjoys, even my little 7-year-old sister, and we have all watched it numerous times. My recommendation is to watch this movie!
Rating: 
Summary: May Make Some Uncomfortable, But Redeems Itself In The End
Review: The legends of Arthur and Merlin are so well ingrained that most people have an opinion as to what is right or accurate (myself included). Just remember that Arthur is said to have lived in the Fifth Century and that places the tale in the Bronze Age.This rendition follows Merlin who was created by Queen Mab. She is afraid of the way Christianity has taken away her followers. She created Merlin to inspire people back to the old beliefs. But merlin is a man unto himself and refuses to be controlled. Excellent special effects (Martin Short is suave and sexy) are added to an all-star cast to create a new tale of Merlin that at first I was uncomfortable with. Particularly the ending narration where it is mentioned how after Arthur, the Grail was found and England was united. But it all fits beautifully when we have the ending where we find out the story has been told by Merlin himself in a small town square. Martin Short comes up to him and says, "That's not the way I remember it." Merlin comments on how the story needs to be changed to be popular so he can make money as a storyteller. So anything you may think of as "wrong" in the movie can be explained away by this simple scene. Some parts of the film are particularly gruesome such as the blood-soaked winter battlefield with Uther. This makes parts of the film unsuitable for some viewers, but it is still a fine effort.
Rating:
Summary: Sam Shines Once More...One of the Best Movies Ever Made
Review: This movie was just astouding. Following from the brith of Merlin, through king after king after king. Until he finds King Arthur. All this while keeping his arch enemy Queen Mab at bay. This was a tv mini series and one of the best ones ever made (with the possible exception of the 10th Kingdonm). It is obvious they were given a rather nice sized bedget and they used it in the best way they could! They made it wonderful! The effects are some of the best in any miniseries and even better than some actual theatre movies. Sam Neil does a *wonderful* job portraying Merlin. And the love between him and his love (however its spelled...) is done wonderfully and is very beautiful. And the showdown between Mab and Merlin towards the end is prefectly done (as well as a nice little closing that we *all* wanted and were happy to see!). You owe it to yourself to get this movie, and watch it nonstop. Right after you finish this sentance.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining but not the best movie
Review: Being a big Arthurian enthusiast I was very excited about this movie. It was still very entertaining, but didn't exactly seem to draw me in. Part of this I think was fault in the script, for some of the lines seemed very forced and un-natural and there wasn't any driving forces behind any characters. The main character was very passive, which tends to be not that interesting. After reading and watching the Mists of Avalon I was a little annoyed by how Morgan le Fey appeared to be an 80's rock star with know sense or brain. So this wasn't the greatest movie, but it was still okay.
Rating:
Summary: I wish I could give it 5 stars but I just can't
Review: So you want to hear a little story about the famous wizard,Merlin?Well heres your movie!This is a great movie unless you're looking for the facts.Just to warn you most of the contents of this movie are more fictional than the legends of King Arthur if thats possible.Its still a great movie but if you want facts this isn't a place where you're going to find them.
Rating:
Summary: Read the other 5 star reviews, and you'll have my opinion
Review: What an excellent movie! Read what some of the other people who rated it highly and I agree with them. Don't read the lower ratings and reviews. These people also watch sitcoms and soaps so they know how to live their daily lives. Just enjoy it for what it is and you will NOT be disappointed!
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but ....
Review: It STILL doesn't beat "Excalibur" for sheer atmosphere, acting and Britishness! The acting kudos, as usual, go TO the British cast members of this exceptional mini-series, with Miranda Richardson as Queen Mab, Helena Bonham-Carter as Morgana and John Gielgud, as well as numerous character actors handling the parts of Mordred, Arthur, Cornwall, Lancelot and Galahad. Isabella Rosellini, who almost made a career out of starring in these truly groundbreaking TV mini-series, starting with "The Odyssey", is appropriately dewy-eyed and demure as Nimue, the love of Merlin's life, (and a character who is NEVER mentioned in the legend of King Arthur,) but it is Richardson and Carter, as Mab and Morgana that steal the show, as well as Martin Short, as a troll-like character named Frick, who befriends the woebegone Morgana, here played as a lisping, deformed waif, whom Frick transforms into the Morgana that we all know and love/hate. It's really odd hearing this woman say things like "That's was WUDE!!", to a misbehaving young Mordred Here is Rutger Hauer again, doing his truly evil bad-guy thing as Vortegan, an evil usurper king we've ALSO never heard about before. In fact, he pretty much keeps Gielgud's part to a very minor cameo by killing him within two minutes time. The movie is half over before he is vanquished, however. Many things differ from the usual Arthurian legend that seems to get twisted every time it is told...."Camelot", if you'll remember, had Mordred as Arthur's nephew, rather than his son, and there was no Lancelot-born Galahad in the musical either. In "Exclaibur", we get the true story, with Uther taking Ygwaine, fathering Arthur and giving him to Merlin reluctantly. Then Morgana, bent on revenge, seduces Arthur to give birth to Mordred, his ultimate enemy and the product of incest. This is pretty much what happens here, but at 140 minutes, it has a little more time to add more frippery to the story, some of it, perhaps fanciful, but with the odd exception of Sam Neill's Merlin itself, who seems WAY to American, it all seems to work well. The third TRULY good Robert Halmi production for NBC and I wouldn't recommend going beyond it blindly for entertainment. Get "Gulliver's Travels", "The Odyssey" and this, and then STOP!
Rating:
Summary: Best made-for-tv mini-series I've seen
Review: The cast in this made-for-TV type mini-series is exceptional and therefore the acting is also great. Visually, it's beautiful and I recommend it to anyone who like fantasy movies.
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic fantasy movie
Review: I really enjoyed this movie tremodously. I thought the acting superp, they story line well played, and the the special effects extremely fun. Having read the previous thousand or so reviews I conclude: This movie was heavily panned by those well versed in Excaliber and Arthurian legends. But legends only they were, and this is but a fantasy movie. So to say that it was a bad movie because it departed from the facts of history is was bad misnomer. Take it for what it is, a darn good fantasy movie with a sensible love interest and you won't be disappointed. By the way Martin Short was hysterical, emotional, and vegenful at will, and Sam Neill, is well, excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful TV movie
Review: This is a TV-made movie, to tell the story of Merlin.
Sam Neil did a wonderful job in this movie to tell the story of Camelot, from Merlin's side. The raise and fall of magic.
It's something worth owning, review it later days and never get tired of it.
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