Review of Merlin and the Book of Beasts

I was expecting little from Merlin and the Book of Beasts in the first place, but you always do get that hope that it is at least watchable. Apart from some lovely locations, and a rousing and sometimes sparkling soundtrack, Merlin and the Book of Beasts is a disaster on all levels. The acting feels very stilted, nobody looks properly comfortable and a fair number overact. James Callis especially is so bad that you actually wonder why he was cast in the first place. The characters are underwritten and never likable too, while the effects are amateurish and the camera work is often haphazard. The sword and sorcery elements are clumsily choreographed and the story is constantly dull and the Greek mythology elements with the Gorgons are ridiculously out of place in a film about the Arthurian legend, further proof that the Sci-Fi channel don't do their research properly before producing their films. In conclusion, not worth bothering with. 2/10 Bethany Cox