Any redeeming features?

[himiko]

OK, since this subboard is overwhelmingly negative (and, TBH, who can blame us?) I thought we could start a little ray of sunshine in which we can think of some features that were, if not great, then not entirely terrible either. I anticipate this being a short thread. Twill be interesting to see if everyone has the same opinion on what aspects could be considered "redeeming"

And I promise, I will not start my list with "It's not Merlin: The Return"

Right, OK, so here's a point to start off with: However annoying you may fnd most of the characters, the large majority of them are killed off- Weston, the Burtons, Rauskaug and Merlin are all killed off in a very permanent manner, and presumably the Lady of the Lake too. Brianna, Graham and Yvonne all die temporarily, and using the wondrous stop feature, we can all pretend that's how the film ends.

[Zoicite]

So it's only good if everyone dies....sounds about right.

[Lane of Magic]

It can make for a very good fanvid. Of course, the credit should go to whoever made said vid – they actually make the whole movie look good!

*looks for it* Er. It’s apparently gone. Or I’m more blind than usual (highly possible).

I’ll have to think of other redeeming features. <<

[sleepyqueenie]

Redeeming features:

Miranda obviously
and her tiny parts in the bloopers
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR4WJ3KKio4

*sob* Merlin's Apprentice has bloopers but Merlin hasn't! It's not fair. *goes complaining to Jareth*

Merlin/Puddles cause I've been shipping them forever.
I am happy he got punished for trusting her in the first film.

[Mabforever]

Miranda yes.
The bloopers yes and Im so going to Jareth with you cos it would have been awesome to see Mab in them. Wouldn't you just have loved if at one point Miranda hugged Sam or something dressed as Mab? :L
And well at least we see magick did continue.

[sleepyqueenie]

That would be perfect.

yep, magic continued but not in the most desired form. A magic pig survives when Mab didn't?

I feel like discussing Merlin 2 today. Is that bad?
btw my cheap dvd calls in Merlin 2, the official title is Merlin's Apprentice and I've even seen some covers online calling this film Merlin: the Return.
Most of the film dwells in petiness. Merlin needs Mab to remind him of his purpose.
I enjoy Merlin's enthusiastic falling into his same flaws/the same traps as before. e.g. a cave, his impatience, judging people far too soon (praises and insults the wrong people at the start).
Ignoring the flood of errors in the first 5 minutes, I like that the plot is centered around the grail mostly because of its silent presence in the first film. It feels like they really could have built on from there. It also makes sense that the Lady with her love for collecting powerful artefacts should have/protect the grail.
Merlin's magic in this film would be a joke to Mab.
Jack: that name. A main character with the name Jack is, in my eyes, practically condemned to unimportantness.
Also some info about the man who raised this 'master Jack'as he calls him would be welcome. Was he a follower of the Old Ways? Lady seemed to trust him, yet was not interested when he died and her son was left alone by her lake. Was she out on political business?
Jack *sigh* I liked his lie of his mom being a mermaid. He had a hunch. I would have liked it better if mom would have contacted or checked in on him before so he could have some moral struggle cause in the film as it is he just strolls through whatever happens.
None of the new characters could capture my attention. Meghan Ory I found most talented. It's a pity about the boy-thing, which she did as good as possible and which no one believes longer than 10 seconds.
They should have introduced Loke
My biggest drawback in the film: Rauskaug. Couldn't they have made him a badguy with some more noble purpose or change his appearance? He was vile and unworthy of the Lady who was clearly desperate but sorry love, you could have done better. Though you aren't pure anymore. Letting such brutes destroy Camelot couldn't cleanse it in a hundred years.

[himiko]

On behalf of my boyfriend, who really loves pigs, I shall list the pig's presence as a redeeming feature, being a cute animal who can distract attention from the largely inadequate cast.

Hmmm, sleepyqueenie, I've never seen it called "Merlin: The Return", though a film of that name does exist (It's shite), so that might be a tad confusing...

Yeah, that's another thing about the Lady of the Lake's character that doesn't make sense. She specifically wants a child, and actually states that this is because "she can't bear the loneliness", and once she has it, she abandons him to be raised by that guy, then doesn't even look in on the kid after he dies? Doesn't even try to bring him to her when his powers manifest themselves? I mean, with Mab and Merlin, Ambrosia specifically argues for the right to raise Merlin, there is a reason there. And Mab comes for him as soon as his powers manifest themselves. There's no reason given for Jack being given away, but even if we assume that it is the same- the Lady isn't well equipped to raise a part-mortal child- then why does she never come for him? She only starts trying to persuade him to follow her after she's already destroyed Camelot, killed his father, etc. There's no reason given for any of this. It just feels a bit cobbled together. Though, yes, the mermaid thing is a nice hint.

Rauskaug... I guess it was because both of them had been wronged by Camelot, so they kind of teamed up against it. But again, Camelot is not the only waterside settlement that must be polluting rivers and lakes. No explanation is given as to why the Lady is so against Camelot specifically. Is it because she feels more betrayed by Camelot because she thought of Merlin- and, by extension, Arthur- as her allies beforehand? Is it because she feels angry about her sister's death? Any of these things could have been explained in a conversation between her and Merlin, and they didn't bother. It's not even the total lack of canon here- Merlin mentions that "it must have taken something serious for her to turn against us", or something along those lines, meaning that they haven't rewritten history to make her Camelot's enemy from the start.

I think the grail thing is interesting, too, potentially, I just think that the whole thing is badly executed. It's bad enough that as a supposed "sequel", it is literally impossible to fit into the canon of the original, but half the time it doesn't even bother trying to tie in with itself... I mean, as a sequel it's terrible, but even as a stand alone film, it's a bit below par. It's a pity, because with a little effort from the writer's part, they could have made it tie together a lot more neatly than it did.

[sleepyqueenie]

The pig can stay. He is generally well received.

I wish I had saved that picture now. I can't find it back. It was that title and it did have Sam's face on it. I remembered it because you mentioned that film before. Creepy.

Indeed the Lady's behaviour makes little sense.
If she was that lonely and underwent trouble finding a suitable donor it would be difficult for her to forget about the child for that long. Lady is nothing if not unreliable. Perhaps she had a romantic view on picking up her son and building a new life after Camelot was cleansed. Sadly she spat apart because Jack 'used magic' before we could find out much more.
I doubt her change occured because of her sister. Everyone has forgotten about her in this film. She does not get one mention. It would have been really interesting if the fault somehow lay with Arthur or Merlin personally. Blaming Camelot in general needed a bit more explanation than polution.

*nods* I actually like the film a bit more when I try to tie it to the first film because it is just an impossible puzzle.
Oh those writers.

[sleepyqueenie]

I rewatched bits and... did I see this correctly?(at Merlin killing time) the Lady appears to be wearing a cloak matching her dress and I like that.