FlashCallahan .....What with his accident, Guest House Paradiso, and this, it was a low point for the funny,an, and after this, the only way was up.The dark forces of Mordred are pitted against the mythical sorcery of Merlin. Mordred and his mother Morgana have been imprisoned in another world for the past 1500 years while Merlin's magical powers kept them at bay. However, in the present, a scientist accidentally finds the gateway to the other world and is about to release Mordred into 20th Century life. Arthur is reawakened from his slumber and together with Merlin, tries to find a way to stop Mordred from re-entering this world.....To say the film is bad would be an understatement. I have seen some turkeys in my time, but this is below the children's film foundation standards, and seeing the likes of Bergin, Mayall, and even Sheffer, utter an inane script and perform against horrible CGI skeletons.But that's not the bad part, the child actors are skull scraping lay bad, and Tia Carrere, once brilliant in Wayne's World and True Lies, is the pits, the absolute pits.But for such a dog of a movie, it must have mystical powers, because I couldn't take my eyes off screen for a second.On the plus side, it's the best Stonehenge based movie featuring Merlin in the present ever made.I will give it that.

annevejb I do not understand why there are so many negative comments for this.This is not one of the absolutely best features made with a view to accessibility by children, but it is a long way from the worst. I can enjoy some really iffy ones, this is definitely not as iffy as I would understand it to be from the comments here.Could be the detractors just saw it the once and did not notice enough detail to make them go back. I do not watch this regularly, but Leigh, who plays the girl Kate, stood out, highs and lows, and by now I have seen it more than five times and there is lots of detail all over it that I can now rate as effective comedy. I now find this to be a lot better than average. I accept that it took time for appreciation to grow in me. Kate is now looking effectively portrayed, the others too.Another possibility is that maybe this is breaking a taboo that I have not noticed yet. So many negative comments for no obvious reason, that would fit, but if so I would have expected to notice just why.This is not the first PG rated feature that I have seen with such poor reviews, mostly for them fitting the niche of PG, but this has a slightly different pattern? So, a better than average story for children of 'all ages'. Maybe easier appreciated, first time round, by the physically older. A story that benefits from repeated viewing. A story that some appear to have a very real allergy to.

GRECOFILM If, when in the cinema, children are spinning round to stare at you, it means either that the film itself is terminally terrible or you've sprouted a massive boil on your forehead that you hadn't quite noticed. The first answer is, of course, the right one. And as for "Merlin The Return", it's a stinker in a division all of its own. It's almost as if director Paul Matthews had accepted a bet to make the worst possible film. Well, he's succeeded, and his winnings are bound to be more than Merlin will ever make.Matthews' lumbering style sees the picture heave from one gormless scene to the next, helped on its way by the most awful acting. Rik Mayall (Merlin) trots out his usual sweaty desperation and manic panic, Patrick Bergin (King Arthur) looks like an embarrassing dad (complete with silly wig and glitzy, disco-friendly pullover), while the token American (no doubt included to secure international release - some hope) is a kid who seems to be reading his lines off Merlin's forehead.

sarah-hulme Merlin The Return is a good family film with great special effects!Rik Mayall plays a very good 'Merlin' and brings a funny element to the film!It is a good all round film for children of all ages!