Rating: 
Summary: GREAT MOVIE, BUT LACKING IN SOME FACTS OF LEGEND......
Review: I REALLY ENJOYED THE MOVIE. I HAVE BEEN READING THE DIFFERENT BOOKS ON MERLIN AND KING ARTHUR. THESE ARE THE REALLY GREAT
MASTERPIECES WRITTEN BY MARY STEWART AND T.H. WHITE AND THE REAL
BACKBONE OF THIS HISTORY=SIR THOMAS MALORY'S LE MORTE D' ARTHUR.IF ONE IS REALLY INTERESTED IN MERLIN AND ARTHUR THESE BOOKS ARE
WITHOUT A DOUBT THE FINEST WRITTEN. SAYING THIS, THE MOVIE IS GREAT, BUT IT IS LACKING THE STORY AS TOLD BY THESE GREAT WRITERS. MAB IS NOT IN THE BOOKS, AND OTHER ITEMS ARE ADDED THAT ARE NOT IN THE "REAL STORY". BUT ALL IN ALL
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE MOVIE.
Rating: 
Summary: it was good in itself..
Review: Merlin is not wise as you would think he would be. But this is still a good fantasy fiction film. Film is based upon the concept of "a witch queen whose only wish is to save the old ways and doing everything to achieve it" Merlin detests her ways and so she tries to separate Merlin from his love. Merlin does many mistakes in his decisions and achieves wisdom only when he is old. A good film in itself. There's no accurate legend so we can't expect the film to be accurate. Another new perspective...
Rating: 
Summary: Sloppy. Sloppy. Sloppy.
Review: Boy, oh, boy what sloppy production. I won't go into detail regarding the notorious bad acting and writing. That ground has already been covered. What really irked me were the unimpressive special effects and battle scenes. Take for instance when Vortigern's castle collapses. Debris from fallen castles usually pile up and fall outwards. In Merlin, the stones mysteriously vanish into thin air before reaching ground! Running the icy battle scene in slow motion when Vortigern is killed will reveal his slayer pulling his sword back out of view, only to plunge forward a moment later with a short, blunt, wooden stick! The horse riding scene at the beginning of the film clearly shows continutity goofs first shot in evening then cuts to afternoon! Many similar goofs like these are scattered throughout the film. The quality of the special effects are inexcusably amateur. I have seen high school students do better on Pentiums running Director 1.0!!! Merlin should've never been released in this state. It was definitely a rush job.
Rating:
Summary: Like the SCUD, this one mis-fired!
Review: Merlin misses its mark like a deaf bat hungover on a Sunday morning! It is so far off the beaten path that the title seems unjustified. The sets and costumes were from the wrong time period. The acting and script just awful. This movie reeks. There's no other way to put it. What were they thinking? Any chance it might've had of redeeming itself disappeared once Frick walked onto the set. The time of Merlin was poignantly one of sadness, tragedy, wonder, and grace. For a Martin Short or Jim Carrey to partake in such serious literary work of importance as this is a recipe for disaster. Unless Merlin was intended to be a parody, National Lampoon humor has no place in a film like this. My dog even threw up while we were watching! It may have all been a coincidence, but I have my suspicions...
Rating:
Summary: WAIT FOR THE DIRECTOR'S CUT!
Review: This one is a mind boggler. Many of the scenes were vague and saturated with SFX sequences. I don't even understand why they had to include King Arthur. All he ever does is complain to Merlin about his illness and other problems. Both him and Frik were quite annoying. They accomplished nothing other than to waste valuable time and space which could've been used to help fill in the many holes in the plot. Don't waste your money on this soon to be obsolete DVD! WAIT FOR THE DIRECTOR'S CUT, INSTEAD! It should be available sometime early next year and will differ significantly from the current version. Roughly 30 minutes will be replace by 27 minutes of never-before-seen footage to help make the film more comprehensible. Merlin will finally get the treatment it deserves and become a perennial contender to Excalibur. Until then, it's just another "Kid in King Arthur's Court".
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Piece of Film Work
Review: I have read, with interest, some of the scathing comments made in previous Amazon reviews about this wonderful movie. Having read each review with an open mind,I fail to understand how anyone cannot be captivated by this wonderful interpretation of the classic Arthurial legend. Hallmark, in their wisdom, gathered a cast of actors that would do justice to this movie. Without exception, each one gave a wonderful performance, the end result was a classic movie that I will certainly enjoy watching time and time again. Finally, dare I say, many of these talented actors were "classically Trained" in the UK and without doubt it shows in their on screen performances.
This is a classic and a MUST SEE!
Rating:
Summary: Good news and bad news.
Review: The feel that one gets of this movie being geared towards children through the use of sanitizing special effects is quite deceptive indeed. Some of the material herein are questionable, as well is the length of the film. 3 hours is way too long for any child to try and not to sleep through. Having braved through many a cinematic epics myself, I couldn't help but close my eyes from time to time. That was the bad news. Now here's the good news. A special ed. of this DVD is planned with tons of deleted alternative scenes re-inserted and some deleted. The coming new dvd will include the new as the original tv version. From what I've heard the newer version is the director's cut. It's supposed to be way more edgier, so hopefully there'll finally be something available that's almost as good as Excalibur.
Rating:
Summary: Way too long for its own good...
Review: This movie is just way too long. Scenes throughout drag on while failing miserably to reach clear and concise objectives. Take, for instance, when Nimue was tied up as a sacrifice to the Dragon. It ends up being slain by Merlin, but not before Nimue's face is badly burned. The only purpose of this scene: to show Merlin healing it at the end of the film. Then there's Merlin's jesting sidekick Frik. 10 minutes of perfectly good film wasted on his shapeshifting during a dance number in the castle hall. WHY?!?!? Way too long and drawn out, Merlin would've fared no worse had it been cut in half to 1 1/2 hours. Most of this could've been easily accomplished throwing out Frik's character, which does absolutely nothing for the story. It's ironic that the last line in the film was "No more magic", because that's the impression I got from beginning to end. NO MAGIC.
Rating:
Summary: Call it what you want, but this ain't Camelot!
Review: This video ambigously portrays Merlin as cold on one hand, and compassionate on the other. He was neither. Often the mysterious recluse, he was motivated only by his own interests. Absent are the brute savagery and violent blood-letting commonplace during Merlin's time(5th century). The cost of historical and literary integrity results in a slick, commercialized rendition pandering to a more family-oriented audience. Many of the familiar mythologies are either stripped down or missing- The Knights of the Round Table, origins of Excalibur in detail, the purpose of the Quest for the Holy Grail, King Arthur, etc.,. What we end up with are snoozy speciel effects, corny dialog, and a `happily-ever-after' ending which the 3 to 10 year-old age group will find very apealing. If you're a true lover of Arthurian mythology you'll most likely look elsewhere for chivalrous inspiration because you won't find it here.
Rating:
Summary: Bad editing = bad movie????
Review: Merlin is the very bad movie. The story does not work very cohesionly(sp?) in a film. Mostly a montage of moments and flashbacks pasted together. Sam Neill did not play the magician well. He looks like how do you say in english the man at the carnival who gets the attention of the people?!?!? I think it's called 'carnival barker'?!?!? King Arthur is ill most times. It's amazing how he can rule competence for 3 hours the land of Britain! I apologize for my very bad english!
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