Synopsis: After Morgana Le Fey kills Merlin and possesses the woman he loves, Merlin’s apprentice Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage) imprisons her and spends centuries looking for Merlin’s heir; who turns out to be physics student, Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel). Unfortunately, Horvath (Alfred Molina), the apprentice who betrayed Merlin, intends on freeing Morgana instead.
What I liked about this movie: I’ve had this movie available to me for some time but haven’t watched it because I’m not a huge Nicolas Cage fan. And, we really only ended up watching it because our first choice wasn’t as good as we were expecting it to be. However, I have to admit it is one of the best movies I’ve watched recently.
The thing I like about this movie is there is a good mix of everything. You have a lot of action, some drama, a love story and, to balance things out a bit, a healthy dose of comedy. The film even manages to pay respects to the Mickey Mouse cartoon that the movie is based off of (with a very funny scene involving a bunch of out-of-control mops and sponges).
Another thing I liked about this movie is it wasn’t quite as predictable as I thought it would be. There were actually quite a few twists and surprises that kept this entertaining throughout.
Even more important (to me at least) is the fact the movie really is a family film (something that isn’t always guaranteed). There is some violence (which is what I was originally concerned about). But, it’s not anything that’s over the top and I would feel comfortable with either one of my daughters watching this with me.
What I didn’t like about this movie: It’s not a huge deal, but I was a bit disappointed by the final battle with Morgana. Considering all the talk about her being powerful enough to raise the dead and take over the world, I thought she was a little too easy to defeat.
Final Opinion: I would have ended it slightly differently but, overall, I really don’t have any major complaints about this movie. It’s a fantastic fantasy film that I think just about everyone would enjoy and I hope to watch it again.
My Grade: 5 stars out of a possible 5.