Yet another SyFy movie, this one played in May 2009.
A dark wizard with a mystical book is ravaging the lands, summoning
mythic beasts thought long dead. In the wake of the fall of Camelot,
four knights set out to find the long missing Merlin. They are led by
the elder Galahad. There are two young men who chatter constantly and a
helmed knight who seems mute. The helmed one is obviously a woman
though the viewer is expected to be surprised when she is finally
unmasked. Oh! Gee, didn't see that coming. Worse, she leaves her helm
on the forest floor and never again dons any headgear. That aside, our
unmasked heroine is Avlynn Pendragon, daughter of Arthur and Guinevere.
She has been raised by Galahad and only recently informed of her noble
parentage. Avlynn manages to convince Merlin (James Callis) to join her band (now that
she has been unhelmed, she leads the party) in an effort to recover the
Book of Beasts.
The book is sort of like a Mirror of Life Trapping. Monsters have been entrapped by having their images drawn on the pages, thereby being sucked into the book. The dark wizard has learned to set the beasts free, do his bidding, and then return to the book. An interesting sort of summoning, well-suited to this campaign that is otherwise absent monsters.
The heroes decide to tackle the problem directly, riding for Camelot to steal the book from the dark wizard. They overcome a couple of monsters on the way, letting each character develop. Tristan is the best swordsman and prone to pointless commentary, Lysanor, son of Galahad, is in love with Avlynn and a trusting fellow, Galahad is the old veteran, Merlin is a crotchety grumbler with a dark disposition, and Avlynn is the token female. Sneaking into Camelot via underground tunnels (built in case of a siege so women and children could be evacuated but besiegers would never think to use them to get in; stupid) and Merlin goes to face the dark wizard. He is subdued by the dark wizard who turns out to be Mordred. Meanwhile, Avlynn is captured by gorgons and Mordred has grand plans of incest with his half-sister.
Our bumbling heroes escape thanks to Merlin driving off Mordred but getting killed in the process. With the book in hand, they flee Camelot before Mordred's lackeys can get them. The story tumbles along with the resurrection of Merlin, the recovery of Excalibur, a final confrontation with Mordred that leaves Galahad a statue (don't look at Medusa, you fool!), and Mordred trapped in the Book of Beasts. Merlin has lost his magic and now plans to live out his days as an ordinary mortal, content in the knowledge that Avlynn and Lysanor will live happily ever after.
The production is poor, the CGI is pretty sad, and the characters mostly stink. The actress playing Avlynn was 10 years too old for the role and it showed. With the exception of the opening scene where lots of extras are killed in Mordred's attack, the film is devoid of people. Mordred seems to rule a land that is peopled only with his monsters and his handful of lackey soldiers. Oddly, I did like Merlin. His gravelly voice, constant glowering, and moodiness reminded me of an old man telling kids to `get off my lawn.' This was funny since the man playing him is still in his thirties (5 years older than the actress playing Avlynn). Even so, he can't save this travesty.
The book is sort of like a Mirror of Life Trapping. Monsters have been entrapped by having their images drawn on the pages, thereby being sucked into the book. The dark wizard has learned to set the beasts free, do his bidding, and then return to the book. An interesting sort of summoning, well-suited to this campaign that is otherwise absent monsters.
The heroes decide to tackle the problem directly, riding for Camelot to steal the book from the dark wizard. They overcome a couple of monsters on the way, letting each character develop. Tristan is the best swordsman and prone to pointless commentary, Lysanor, son of Galahad, is in love with Avlynn and a trusting fellow, Galahad is the old veteran, Merlin is a crotchety grumbler with a dark disposition, and Avlynn is the token female. Sneaking into Camelot via underground tunnels (built in case of a siege so women and children could be evacuated but besiegers would never think to use them to get in; stupid) and Merlin goes to face the dark wizard. He is subdued by the dark wizard who turns out to be Mordred. Meanwhile, Avlynn is captured by gorgons and Mordred has grand plans of incest with his half-sister.
Our bumbling heroes escape thanks to Merlin driving off Mordred but getting killed in the process. With the book in hand, they flee Camelot before Mordred's lackeys can get them. The story tumbles along with the resurrection of Merlin, the recovery of Excalibur, a final confrontation with Mordred that leaves Galahad a statue (don't look at Medusa, you fool!), and Mordred trapped in the Book of Beasts. Merlin has lost his magic and now plans to live out his days as an ordinary mortal, content in the knowledge that Avlynn and Lysanor will live happily ever after.
The production is poor, the CGI is pretty sad, and the characters mostly stink. The actress playing Avlynn was 10 years too old for the role and it showed. With the exception of the opening scene where lots of extras are killed in Mordred's attack, the film is devoid of people. Mordred seems to rule a land that is peopled only with his monsters and his handful of lackey soldiers. Oddly, I did like Merlin. His gravelly voice, constant glowering, and moodiness reminded me of an old man telling kids to `get off my lawn.' This was funny since the man playing him is still in his thirties (5 years older than the actress playing Avlynn). Even so, he can't save this travesty.
At the time this was made, James Callis was best know for his role as the cowardly traitor in Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Gaius Baltar.
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