Merlin and the War of the Dragons (2008)

In 5th Century Britain, a young Merlin struggles for his place in his known land under the tutelage of The Mage, a local wizard whom sees the young man's potential for magic, as well as ... See full summary »

Director:

Mark Atkins

Writer:

Jon Macy (screenplay)

Stars:

Simon Lloyd-Roberts, Joseph Stacey, Dylan Jones

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Simon Lloyd-Roberts	...	Merlin
Joseph Stacey	...	Vendiger
Dylan Jones	...	Uther
Hefin Wyn	...	King Vortigen
Jürgen Prochnow	...	The Mage
William Huw	...	Torm
Gary Twomey	...	King Eringar
Carys Eleri	...	Lady Viviane
Nia Ann	...	Lady Nimue
Iona Thonger	...	Ingraine
Dylan Thomas	...	Ambrosis
Iago Patrick McGuire	...	Hengest
Dennis Carr	...	Kelvern
Peter Hind	...	Arvel
Iwan Benneyworth	...	Beneforth (as Iwan James Benneyworth)

Storyline

In 5th Century Britain, a young Merlin struggles for his place in his known land under the tutelage of The Mage, a local wizard whom sees the young man's potential for magic, as well as face off against his evil former friend, Vendiger, whom plots with a feudal warlord king to conquer all of Britian using an army of flying dragons, and only Merlin with the alliance of the local Prince Uther and Ingraine and a pair of mystical goddesses, can have the power to stop the evil from taking over the land.

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Plot Keywords:

king | magic | dragon | wizard | surrealism | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for fantasy action violence and brief language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 November 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Merlin - O polemos ton drakon

Filming Locations:

Dinorwig Quarry, Gwynedd, Wales, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Asylum

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (Dolby 2.0)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

As the first soldier who drinks the dragon's blood does so, his hood is lowered. However, as he is shown transforming, it is suddenly raised.

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Quotes

Lady Nimue: We gods have little in common with mortal men. It is the truth.

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Soundtracks

Chain of Promise
Written by Sanya Mateyas and Chris Ridenhour
Performed by Sanya Mateyas

User Reviews

Fun enough for a Saturday morning

I liked it. It was not awful, and not the best film ever. But it was fun. Considering the usual fare on a lazy weekend, it's good enough. My wife writes fantasy and we watch plenty of films of this genre.

CRITICISMS: It didn't have huge surprises and the props and costumes needed a little help. The book, for example, was quite tattered on the outside, but the pages were a bit too clean, and the edges of them were perfect. Shouldn't they be dog-eared and worn with spots and smudges?

Costumes were TOO CLEAN - and in too good a condition. You would expect, particularly after battle, dirty clothes with rips and tears. And how does Merlin stay so clean shaven out in the field all day? And swords should be bloody after you run through a man with one. Small things like that.

Our biggest issue with the film-making was the sped-up parts of battle. That was - sorry for the word - cheesy. The special effects were not very special.

COMPLIMENTS: I think Info-11159 said it well in the "A good old fashioned - good VS evil fantasy film" comment. His (her?) point about needing a bigger budget and more time is really what was needed. We really enjoyed the horse scenes, but we're horse people. We always enjoy seeing beautiful horses handled by highly skilled equestrians. The riding was very good and a pleasure to watch.

The filming location was GREAT. I like seeing these kinds of stories in more authentic locations. Very beautiful countryside that contributed to the project. That's a sacrilege for me to say - we're in California and our son is a writer in Hollywood! But truly - filming in the UK was perfect for this.

The actors did well with what they were given and the story was just right for this genre.

Overall, I enjoyed the film. I do like the genre. I think to really enjoy it, you have to have the right expectations. Don't expect huge budget Hollywood fare - think of it as a fantasy B movie and just go with it.

If they do a sequel, I hope they use the same horse suppliers and riders - and don't speed it up. Those people were highly skilled and could handle the action just fine at the speed they would be performing at. Maybe get a little bit better CG software.

I would watch it again.