First off, I saw the video release, not the TV series. This film manages to capture the Arthurian myth in a new light, namely from the view of Arthur's wizard, Merlin. As such it also starts before the usual start of such films. In fact it starts before Uther Pendragon.
It does a good job of telling it's story and the acting and special effects are good and many characters are given a good depth. What the film is missing is however a motivation for the main antagonist, Queen Mab. Early in the film there is a short film showing saxons plundering a church, and the film claims also pagan shrines were looted, but we see nothing in this. On one hand it is implied that the christian church is bad for Queen Mab, and on the other it is implied that the rise of Vortigern who defeated a christian king was bad for Queen Mab. She only walks around clamoring "Thing´s must return to the old" But exactly what that is, is lost, perhaps in editing. She just fights the protagonist Merlin because he wont help her. At the end of the film she is perfectly happy to send Mordred to depose Arthur, but I cannot discern how this will help her cause.
It is almost impossible to rate this movie without comparing it to the film "Excalibur". I think it is better, a lot better. Excalibur threads a path very close to that of a turkey film with it's visuals and knights running around in full plate armor. Acting is good in both, in fact I would rate Nicol Williamson's Merlin as a better one, and Helen Mirren is certainly more memorable as le Fey. And the music in Excalibur is certainly better than that in Merlin. But Excalibur fails in scenography and script.
It does a good job of telling it's story and the acting and special effects are good and many characters are given a good depth. What the film is missing is however a motivation for the main antagonist, Queen Mab. Early in the film there is a short film showing saxons plundering a church, and the film claims also pagan shrines were looted, but we see nothing in this. On one hand it is implied that the christian church is bad for Queen Mab, and on the other it is implied that the rise of Vortigern who defeated a christian king was bad for Queen Mab. She only walks around clamoring "Thing´s must return to the old" But exactly what that is, is lost, perhaps in editing. She just fights the protagonist Merlin because he wont help her. At the end of the film she is perfectly happy to send Mordred to depose Arthur, but I cannot discern how this will help her cause.
It is almost impossible to rate this movie without comparing it to the film "Excalibur". I think it is better, a lot better. Excalibur threads a path very close to that of a turkey film with it's visuals and knights running around in full plate armor. Acting is good in both, in fact I would rate Nicol Williamson's Merlin as a better one, and Helen Mirren is certainly more memorable as le Fey. And the music in Excalibur is certainly better than that in Merlin. But Excalibur fails in scenography and script.