Poor acting and weak storyline make this a totally missable movie

"Arthur & Merlin" is a 100-minute fantasy film from the United Kingdom and as a consequence this is of course in the English language. This one runs for 100 minutes (without credits) and was directed and co-written by Marco van Belle, certainly his most known work so far, but then again he has not been too prolific yet in his career. The title already tells us that the film focuses on two characters that have appeared in film many times already. I keep reading that this one here is a low budget production, but honestly, it was not that visible during most of the film. Costumes and sets are solid and if there was any point where you could actually see it, then this would be the acting which wasn't that great and there were one or two moments when it had a touch of a high school / college play production. Anyway, I also think that the film is a bit too long for its own good as some sequences and scenes do not feel that important or relevant and I'd have been perfectly fine with an 80-minute film here. No need to stuff it and drag it any further/longer. But like I already said, there were also some okay components here. I think some of these also have to do with the general story though as the characters are simply epic and it's not really an achievement by van Belle or any of the actors or anybody else working on this project. This is also why in terms of the creativity and quality of the overall outcome, there is simply not enough good to let me really recommend this. I give it a thumbs-down and suggest you watch something else instead unless you really care about this old Arthur/Merlin saga. Oh well, on the other hand, maybe then you especially should not see it. Your choice.

How to be fair to this movie? Is it a story or is it a movie? I know, dumb question. But as a film, it seems like a student project. That's okay, cause it focuses on story. The acting is suggestive of a play rather than a movie. I would give it ten stars as a narrative. It's a wonderful story. It works as a celtic myth, if such things appeal to you. Ten stars as a play. It could be done at the high school level, it could be off Broadway. But the critics are correct in that it basically takes no advantage of the film medium. It didn't "need" to be a movie. You could read the plot easily in book form. This is or is not a problem - depending on your personal preferences. My suggestion: If you read a book when it first comes out, you'll like this. If you wait for the movie - you won't.

The best King Arthur film - ever - played with all the necessary conviction.A quest for each man to achieve his purpose and identity - in relation to his aptitudes - against the delusion that one can only achieve when one is ready, since one can never know when this might actually be until one actually tries.All it lacks is a compelling exploration of the political conflict between the old, pagan gods and the new Christian ones, that it implies is central to any abstract understanding of the culture depicted and the non-material reasons one might have for defending it.