Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Motompa Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

topherevans I really don't understand what people see in this production, my wife watches it religiously, and I have seen several episodes, but never at any point have I reached the point where my disbelief is suspended.How can anyone reconcile this low budget, poorly written, show with the Legend of Arthur, nothing is big enough, nobody is heroic enough.I can't lose the feeling that I'm watching inexperienced actors trying to fill boots way bigger than they are.I love the Arthurian legends, I've read Mallory and many others since, but this is like watching a college production, just doesn't do it justice in my opinion.I do understand that it's a low budget production, but surely that allows for a little bit of more impressive scenery? the closed shots suggest it's filmed in some council estate woods, open up show us some of the awe of the Welsh mountains and forests.

Amy Rose I consider myself a fan of dragons which is what attracted me to watching this film in the beginning. But from almost the beginning it was clear that the special effects were completely unrealistic. The dragons well i cannot find a word strong enough to explain how poor they look and how unbelievable unreal.Not only were the special effects poor but the acting is as well. The whole movie just screams low budget. The battle scenes are terrible you see people getting cut with swords but at no point do you actually see any blood. At one point after a battle everyone basically gets up and runs away. Its over dramatic at all the wrong points and some of the backing music is really played at the wrong times.I do not consider myself to be harsh i have honestly never been so disappointed in a film. I will not be recommending it to anyone and i feel the need to in fact warn people before they waste time or heaven forbid money actually watching it

misbegotten 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.

kelong_2000 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.