Merlin - The Return (DVD)

...attempts to visit Arthur and Merlin many years on, taking us down a different path with the tale, and adding a modern setting to a large part of it. The trouble is, it doesn't quite come off. In fact, it's a dire representation of cinema, in many ways.

First off, the plot was immensely confusing to begin with. Scenes in modern day England greet us after a brief intro in Arthurian times, designed to explain to us what happened. We get ...
...then told (or shown) that Merlin has in turn banished Mordred, condemning him to being trapped, presumably in limbo.

However, Mordred has managed to connect with a spiritual practitioner, and in doing so has collaborated with evil scientist Joan Maxwell in order to bring him back into the real world, but this time in our times. It is at this point that I had to pause the film, as it made no sense, and I realised that Merlin was the ... more

Arthurian legend is one the most famous fantasy tales ever, made even more magical by the presence of Merlin, King Arthur's magician. Some stories would have you believe different versions, with one of the more recent versions being that starring Clive Owen as Arthur, giving it more of a Crusades twist.

However, the twist on the tale here attempts to visit Arthur and Merlin many years on, taking us down a different path with the tale, and adding a modern setting to a large part of it. The trouble is, it doesn't quite come off. In fact, it's a dire representation of cinema, in many ways.

First off, the plot was immensely confusing to begin with. Scenes in modern day England greet us after a brief intro in Arthurian times, designed to explain to us what happened. We get the general gist that Arthur's evil enemy, Mordred, has used his powers as a sorcerer to banish Arthur and the Knights of his Round Table, but into where I'm really not sure. We are then told (or shown) that Merlin has in turn banished Mordred, condemning him to being trapped, presumably in limbo.

However, Mordred has managed to connect with a spiritual practitioner, and in doing so has collaborated with evil scientist Joan Maxwell in order to bring him back into the real world, but this time in our times. It is at this point that I had to pause the film, as it made no sense, and I realised that Merlin was the one who banished them all, Mordred to stop him being an evil pain in the arse, and Arthur and his Knights should they ever be needed to bring back and stop Mordred once more.

Okay, so by this point the film had completely confused me, as well as offered me not much in the way of quality acting or camera work. Director Paul Matthews hasn't really got the timing right, and some of the casting is questionable. The lead role is perhaps the most curious. A powerful and charismatic character such as Merlin, steeped in being wise and all knowing would suggest the need for such an actor. While I am a big fan of most of Rik Mayall's work, Merlin is not something I ever expected to see him in, and I have to say I was disappointed.

But at least he tried, and there were moments when he was the only one holding the bloody film together! Patrick Bergen had a big hit with 'Sleeping With The Enemy', around 20 years ago. Since then, his co-star Julia Roberts has gone on to hit the Hollywood heights, while he has loitered around dodgy low production films, often in an action role, always with a dodgy moustache. Here, he gives a lacklustre and thoroughly unconvincing performance, both when speaking as well as in the action scenes.

Other cast members of note are surprisingly below par, too. While she has never really hit the big time, Tia Carrere has always maintained respect for her work, both on the big screen and as Sydney Fox in 'Relic Hunter'. However, she doesn't really have much to sink her teeth into here, and it is more a criticism of the filming angles and the poor timing than it is of her acting, to say that she could have done better. Similarly, Adrian Paul has impressed me in the past as Duncan MacLeod in the Highlander TV series. In contrast to Carrere, his poor performance here as Lancelot is all his own doing. The only good thing about him is when he has to do the fight scenes, which he manages with vague ease. There are also a couple of amusing parts where the actor looks as if he is wondering what on earth he is doing in the film. You get the impression he is just trying to have fun on a sinking ship!

I can't quite understand how this brave concept was entered into with what appears to be so little care. Matthews' direction is not a rather amateur affair, with use of everything at his fingertips seemingly forgotten between his being handed the job and then actually doing it. The camera work is average, with the bare minimum seeming to be done, and the editing should be much, much sharper. Naturally, the special effects follow suit, with some neon green and blue beams of light serving as the magical weapons that Merlin and Mordred are able to muster.

Ultimately, it is a very disappointing film, particularly if you are someone like me who likes Arthurian legend and (nearly) everything that has been associated with it. The all round presentation is diabolical, and it is a film that I really struggled to finish watching. There is, naturally, a big fight scene at the end of the film, and for a minute or two I was actually engrossed in some of it - a little suspense crept into it. However, when Bergen starting brandishing his moustache again, all fantasy in my head about watching something different disappeared once more to be replaced with boredom.

Merlin: The Return is currently available for £1.50 from amazon.co.uk, and I think this very low price says quite a lot as to what value is placed upon it. The copy I have is one that came free with a national newspaper, and it is literally just the film. There are no extras. It came as part of a collection of fantasy films from the paper. I just hope the other films in the collection were better than this one...... 

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