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Cast: James Callis, Laura Harris, Monique Ganderton, Donald Adams, Patrick Sabongui, Maja Stace-Smith, Jim Thorburn, Megan Vincent
Welcome to the dark side of Camelot: King Arthur is gone. The Round Table is in ruins. And a rogue sorcerer has unleashed a reign of monstrous terror upon the land. For the court’s last remaining knights, their only hope lies in the power of the now-bitter and broken wizard Merlin (James Callis of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA). But can a once-great man of magic defeat a legion of creatures that includes Dragon Soldier, Death Hawks and Gorgons, and still reclaim the legendary castle of lore? Laura Harris of DEAD LIKE ME and 24 co-stars in this epic adventure that puts a savage new edge on the saga of Excalibur, Mordred and the ultimate battle between MERLIN AND THE BOOK OF BEASTS.
A continuation of the story of Merlin and Excalibur, this is a story that can be made forever as there is so much that can to created from such a time and place and the adventures are only limited by the imagination. The film takes place After the deaths of King Arthur and his knights, and the rise to power of an evil sorcerer named The Arkadian, darkness has once again descended upon Camelot and the rest of England. All that's left to fight the good fight are an aging Sir Galahad, his young apprentice Lysanor, and the brawny Tristan, son of Tristan and Isolde. Most importantly, there's the beautiful blonde warrior princess Avlynn Pendragon, who just happens to be the daughter of Arthur and Guineviere. After gaining the help of Merlin, who at first wanted nothing more than to be left alone in his forest the brave group makes its way into a ruined Camelot to confront The Arkadian. I always enjoy watching these type of flicks with the magic, monsters and such that take you on a magical journey of good versus evil. For the most part the Sci-Fi Channel's movies lack a lot of production value due mainly to the type of movies they make which need a modest budget in order to at least do decent effects which are a big part of their films. Merlin is an exception to that rule in that the effects and over-all production looks very good, I was impressed with the effects here and thought the settings for the most part where very well done as well. The cast was also very good including James Callis as Merlin, I thought he brought a edge to the character I have not seen in previous films. There is plenty to like here considering the budget,action,adventure,magic and monsters that include dragon soldiers and the snake-head Gorgon sisters who the band must try and defeat with their eyes closed so not to be turned to stone forever. I would think there will be extra interest in this with the new Television series "Merlin" that began this year in the U.S.. But even without that it seems these fantasy adventures are always popular and Merlin and The Book of Beasts is a film that will please any fan. It is not without some flaws but over-all I found this to be a fast paced adventure that kept me interested and highly entertained. The DVD comes with Special Features that include:
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.78
Audio: Dolby Digital - English
Subtitles - English - SDH
Additional Release Material: Featurette: Behind the Scenes Featurette
Released by Anchor Bay Entertainment. *** 1/2 Out Of *****