One of the most beautiful made for TV films, or rather mini-series. Another take on the story of, legends surrounding, Camelot. This one has it's focus on Merlin, as the title suggests. It starts out with Merlin tell us his story starting from his youth, how he met the Lady Vivian, Merlin's romance with Nimue, Excalibur, Merlin's battles with Mab, the Sword in the Stone, the rise of Camelot, Uther & Arthur, all the way to Merlin's end. The film packs a lot into 3 hours without loosing anything.The visuals are done on a grand scale: from sets, costumes, special effects, cinematography and great casting. As with all of the stories and films of Camelot, there are a few slight variations and this particular version is an excellent take on the legend.Martin Short, Frik, gives a bit of a comedy relief without overdoing it. Miranda Richardson is Queen Mab - midwife of faeries - that originally appeared in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" but made a great addition to this tale. Sam Neill is superb as Merlin the Magician - I rather like him in this role.All around great movie. It's one the whole family can enjoy (and child friendly) but it's super for any one that cares for the story of Camelot.9/10

As someone stated before med: Made for TV doesn't bode very well.True enough, this mini-series/film does have several weak moments but also some very strong points. My main problem being the pacing being somewhat uneven and some of the characters.I never could stand comic relief characters I'd say the actors do a job good enough even if some parts seem a bit misplaced in what, to my mind, is a rather dramatic and solemn legend.And it was good to see Rutger Hauer again.I'm an old guy so I tend to whine more over things I don't like than a younger viewer however. hence, if I'd seen it when I was a kid I'm sure I would have loved it despite it's flaws.So if you have kids who are into fantasy and adventures, let them watch this. I'm sure they appreciate it more than I did.But I don't regret watching it.A solid 4 out of 10.

A slow beginning, but a great movie all in all. In the beginning, I found myself wondering why I rented this movie in the first place. It seemed like one of those tired films that was randomly produced for television (and wastefully so). However, as the movie progresses, it becomes more entertaining. There are several subplots, as well as the overall plot, and it is wonderful to try to keep up with everything. My personal favorite subplot was that between Frik and Morgan. Truth be told, by the end of Morgan's appearance, I found myself crying. However, I was glad to see that there was a happy ending after all.Despite the slow beginning, this is a very good movie, and not just another fantasy movie at all. A must see!

I've never been big on made-for-TV movies. They tend to be underdeveloped, idiotic, and full of more plot holes than a book about Swiss cheese.The only notable (full-length) exception is the fantastic "Merlin," a very well-handled, beautifully visualized, and superbly performed fantasy drama starring Sam Neill and Isabella Rossellini. What's most interesting about this film is that it's really quite different for an Arthurian tale: it's about Merlin, not Arthur!In fact, Arthur is just another one of the players who visits Merlin's board every now and then. His fellow characters always enhance and never detract from the story, and no one ever steals the show.The cinematography is almost theatrical in its beauty. The sweeping music is... well, nice and sweeping. And the magic could make even the stoniest-faced Scrooge believe in *something.* Welcome to the world of "Merlin"-- a world you're not likely to forget.