Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

A somewhat humorous twist on the tales and legends of King Arthur/Camelot. A late 20th century "mad scientist" of sorts resurrects Guinevere wearing dreadlocks, Merlin and some knights and they must stop Morgana and Mordred from returning.There are some intentionally funny moments: like Merlin running down the road without pants, the knights being thrown from a diesel truck. Other parts of the film are meant to be taken seriously, I guess, but are funny - unintentionally funny. I would say this film is quite campy.It's an awful film, but it does make a good comical afternoon matinée. It's a family film so I would recommend keeping that in mind if you decide to watch.4/10

British screenwriter/producer/director Paul Matthews set up his own production company Peakviewing Entertainment in the early Nineties, and started out making low budget horror movies that were filmed in the UK but set in America. By the end of the decade, both Matthews and Peakviewing had graduated to slightly-larger budgeted productions (family films, children's fantasy movies, even a few westerns) that were still British financed, but mostly shot in South Africa.Written and directed by Matthews, MERLIN: THE RETURN is probably the best known example of Peakviewing's output, and even received a wide cinema release in the UK, opening in over one hundred screens across the country during the Christmas holidays in 2000. Presumably titled to trick audiences into thinking it was a sequel to the internationally acclaimed Hallmark TV mini-series MERLIN (1998) starring Sam Neill, MERLIN: THE RETURN includes an inspired piece of left-field casting (Rik Mayall as Merlin), some familiar B movie faces (Adrian Paul, Craig Sheffer), a couple of former A listers on the slide (Patrick Bergin, Tia Carrere) and assorted unknowns who didn't go on to appear in anything of note (in particular, Julie Hartley as Guinevere).The plot: approximately 1500 years ago, a final battle at Stonehenge ended with King Arthur (Bergin) and his knights surrounded and vastly outnumbered by Mordred (Sheffer) and his army. With Arthur already badly wounded and left emotionally shattered by Mordred's revelation that Guinevere had been unfaithful with Lancelot (Paul), Merlin desperately used the energy contained within the standing stones to cast a spell that banished Mordred, his followers, Guinevere and Lancelot to a dismal dimension called the Neitherworld. The wizard also placed Arthur and his knights in a deep slumber, from which they would only awaken if Mordred menaced the world again. Cut to the present-day, and Merlin - rendered immortal by magical means - is living as a hermit in a village close to Stonehenge and regarded as a harmless eccentric by the locals. However, a scientist named Maxwell (Carrere) is conducting experiments involving Earth's magnetic field that are weakening the spell keeping Mordred imprisoned in the Neitherworld, and thus also cause Arthur and his knights to awaken. Reunited with his king, Merlin must find a way to prevent Mordred from re-entering our world.MERLIN: THE RETURN is an entertaining romp, if you're in an undemanding mood, and as a tale of otherworldly warriors continuing their battle on contemporary Earth, it feels like a British version of the live-action MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE movie (1987). The biggest surprise is Rik Mayall, who plays the titular role remarkably straight and emerges as the film's strongest asset. He also gets a great set-piece when Merlin single-handedly wreaks mystical havoc at Maxwell's laboratory. Taking his cue from Mayall, Bergin also takes his role seriously, while clearly being aware of the comedy inherent in having time-displaced, sword-waggling Dark Age warriors let loose in the 21st century. Accordingly, Bergin teases some humour into scenes where Arthur finds himself in unlikely situations - such as Merlin insisting that the best way to contact the Lady of the Lake is for the king to throw himself off a cliff. Adrian Paul came to MERLIN: THE RETURN having spent most of the preceding decade starring in HIGHLANDER: THE SERIES, so playing a sword-welding immortal must have come as second nature to him, and indeed he portrays Lancelot as just another member of the clan MacLeod. But it's a nicely-judged performance that catches exactly the right tone for the film. Julie Hartley makes for a spirited Guinevere, and especially looks the part when she changes into golden chainmail and armour halfway through the film. She also has great chemistry with Mayall - so much so that Guinevere and Merlin feel more like a natural couple than Guinevere does with either Arthur or Lancelot. Sheffer glowers, snarls and barks his way through the role of Mordred, and while he does have some effective moments, he often seems more like a street-corner thug instead of the regal Dark Overlord and potential world-conqueror that he's supposed to be. As Maxwell, Tia Carrere doesn't even try to explore the psyche of someone prepared to sell out the human race for her own narrow-minded personal gain, instead choosing to do just enough to earn her pay cheque, no more. Although clearly intended to be a family film (Merlin is befriended and aided by two pre-teen children - an English girl and American boy for that all-important trans-Atlantic appeal), MERLIN: THE RETURN contains some surprisingly adult themes: Mordred and his mother Morgana (Grethe Fox) have an openly incestuous relationship; Guinevere's adultery with Lancelot is an important plot-point; Mordred surrounds himself with scantly-clad witches, handmaidens and female warriors (one of the latter is played by Lee-Anne Liebenberg, who went on to the higher profile role of Viper in Neil Marshall's DOOMSDAY) and while jaunting through the Neitherworld, Lancelot & Arthur stumble across the villain's personal harem; and at the film's conclusion, after Mordred has been defeated and Arthur & the knights decide they don't belong in the 21st century and choose to make a new home for themselves in the Neitherworld, they take Maxwell with them as their prisoner (presumably so she can't cause more mischief on Earth) and it's made clear that her future consists solely of being Gawain's unwilling sex slave.The final credits state that MERLIN: THE RETURN is dedicated to actress Kadamba Simmons, who starred in Paul Matthews' first two movies, GRIM (1995) and BREEDERS (1997, aka DEADLY INSTINCTS), and was tragically murdered, aged just 24, shortly after the second film was completed. Patrick Bergin and Craig Sheffer later both starred in another Peakviewing movie directed by Matthews, a HIGHLANDER-style fantasy called BERSERKER: HELL'S WARRIOR (2004). At the time of writing, BERSERKER remains the last film made by Matthews and/or Peakviewing.

First of all some setbacks to the film:The kid who played Richie was absoloutely dreadful! That performance was probably one of the worst I have ever seen in a film. He looked totally unbelievable in the role and a blind chimp with his hands behind his back could have done a better job! The worst piece of acting in the film for him was when he walked through the door and saw tia carrere and that bad guy. The lines were something like "what is that"( he was probably standing in front of a mirror and saw his own acting). Adrian Paul was also disappointing in the role Lancelot. It was an OK performance but was a bit wooden and he didn't seem to show any good signs of acting( highlander 2 springs to mind). The script to the film was a bit weak and did not show off any of the actors talents as they should have doneSome better performancesEven though I cannot stand Patrick Bergin as a person, in fact i think he is very arrogant, he still did a good job with the film. It wasn't brilliant but it was above average.Tia Carrere, who I am a big fan of was very well cast in the bitchy role. As nice as Tia is off screen her best roles seem to be playing the baddie( an exeptional performance in true lies). Tia is a very funny actress and the comedy seemed to shine through naturally in this film.Rik Mayall was also very well cast and was hilarious in the role as merlinThe two performances were Tia, Rick and Patrick

I hadn't ever heard of this movie until I ran across it on cable this evening, and seeing Rik Mayall's name in it, I figured I'd check it out, being a fan of "The Young Ones" from way back. Well obviously he's a young one no longer, but he does a enthusiastic turn as Merlin in this unfortunate mish-mash of I-don't-know-what.Was this really Patrick Bergin, Tia Carrere, Craig Sheffer (oh what happened to the days of "A River Runs Through It"?)? Throw in a little Stonehenge mythology, Arthurian legend, special effects that look like they flew out of "Ghostbusters" and this could have been a LOT better movie. Bad things happen to good actors, and this movie is proof. Discombobulated plot, confusion abounds, and I kept hoping Elizabeth from "Drop Dead Fred" would pop up and say the magic words and make it all go back in the jack-in-the-box. Craig Sheffer is in no way, shape or form cut out to be this creepy time traveler, he's a great actor and what in the world made him do this movie is beyond me. Patrick Bergin doesn't really have that much enthusiasm either.Mayall does seem to be the most inclined to try his best, so I'd give this a 5 out of 10.