Merlin and the War of the Dragons (2008)

Thanks for the memories!

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

hyped garbage

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

To be honest, I was expecting Merlin and the War of the Dragons to be bad. When I did see it with an open mind and no actual idea of how it actually would be like, I was actually rather mixed on it. I don't think it is ever going to be one of my favourite movies and I don't think it is the best thing since sliced bread either. However, I do not think it is as bad as the rating and some of the negative commentators say. By all means I can definitely see why one would dislike Merlin and the War of the Beasts, but considering how many other low-budget movies I've seen that were far worse than this one I personally do not think it was that bad, and wouldn't ever say things like "you have no idea what a good movie is" or "you have to be a shill to enjoy it".Are there flaws? I do think so. The camera work is static at times, especially in the fight sequences which were not all that compelling and somewhat incoherent. The costumes and props are on the cheesy side and do look too clean. The dialogue does have a crassness to it, and some of the acting does show signs of inexperience- I personally was not convinced by Simon Lloyd Roberts but maybe that's just me- making the characters somewhat stiff(which sadly doesn't make up for their rather clichéd personalities). The music is not so bad, there are some nice fantasy-like parts, but at the same time it is not amazing either coming across in places as overblown.However, I did like the idea of the story, and while there is some filler that could have been cut and there are few surprises there are some exciting moments and I wouldn't call it dull either. The locations are stunning and I loved the horses and the way they were ridden also. The effects compared to other films I've seen are not bad either, the dragon looks reasonably good actually. There are some decent performances as well, with Dylan Jones faring best. Jurgen Prochnow seems to be having fun as the Mage and Carys Eleri and Nia Ann are lovely without being just that. In conclusion, not awful but at the same time not great either, if anything I'm in between on this one. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Clearly inspired by Shine's TV show Merlin (there's even an opening voice-over by a John Hurt sound-alike) which has become the first British series to be sold to one of the major American networks for several years, Merlin and the War of the Dragons (retitled Merlin and the War of the Dragon Empire on it's Region 2 release) is one of the better efforts from shameless rip-off merchants The Asylum. Fittingly, apart from the American financing this is very much a British film - it was shot entirely on location in Wales in just two weeks, with a cast of almost entirely Welsh and English actors. In fact, the only non-British thespian involved is legendary German character actor Jurgen Prochnow (always welcome), playing the mage who is the young Merlin's mentor and surrogate father.The script throws in various elements from the Arthurian myths: Merlin's first meeting with Uther Pendragon and Ingraine, who will become Arthur's parents; Uther's ascent to the throne; and not one, but two Ladies of the Lake – Nimue and her sister Vivianne. Excalibur also makes an appearance, but despite everyone treating the sword as though it's of major importance, within the story of this film it's just a MacGuffin. And some body-painted Pict warriors turn up in one scene, for no apparent reason other than the producers having clearly seen King Arthur (2004). There's also one key aspect of the Arthurian legends that the Shine series has (so far) ignored, but which this movie openly embraces – the notion that Merlin is the Devil's son.Merlin and the War of the Dragons was made with a budget that wouldn't pay for the catering on an average Hollywood production, but it's still a good-looking film, provided you realistically lower your expectations. The Welsh landscapes give the movie an atmosphere of both gritty realism and majestic mysticism, with constantly overcast and forbidding-looking skies. The CGI dragons are actually very impressive when seen in the air, although less so when they land and we get a better look at them. And unfortunately, when Uther gives his soldiers a blatant copied-from-Braveheart battlefield speech, despite the clever camera angles used by the director there's no hiding the fact that Uther's mighty army consists of just over a dozen men.But despite these limitations, this is still a highly watchable film. Prochnow is his usual reliable self, while the rest of the cast – a collection of newcomers and unknowns – don't disgrace themselves, and give solid performances. Special mention must go to Nia Ann and Carys Eleri who play Nimue and Vivianne respectively, and succeed in giving the characters an unsettling, otherworldly quality. The sight of Nimue tending to a wounded and unconscious Merlin by trickling blood from her mouth into his is genuinely unnerving.The last scene of the film raises the possibility of a sequel. Provided the same quality can be maintained, that's a very welcome prospect.

I wonder why this title got so many negative comments! I for one thoroughly enjoyed it. True, some of the lesser actors were poor, probably local Welsh villagers-but overall I thought the film was well presented. I liked the scenery and the fact that a lot of it was filmed at dusk-which added to the ambiance of the whole thing. It reminded me a lot of a film I saw many years ago "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" which was also filmed in Wales. I liked the earthiness of Vivienne and Nimue and the magical effects were well done. Maybe not a masterpiece but still a well made film and I was pleasantly surprised. It may have been psychological-if I had been expecting it to be brilliant I would have been disappointed-but thinking it would be terrible had the opposite affect! As far as Merlin films go it was pretty good!

This film is a story about merlin as a youth. This is an interesting premise but the actual film was a disappointment. the script dialog was bad and should have been worked a little bit more to improve the movie. The film's flow between scenes was not smooth and the editing was bad. The part about this film that really annoyed me was the cinematography. The composition of the film's scenes was really bad. The camera shots did not make any sense. For example, some of the battle scenes were not focused on the action but off center. One could consider it an attempt to be "artistic", but it was not. Overall the film was very amateurish and not worth my time.