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So, I went into this film with low expectations, and came out of it with an enjoyable memory for the afternoon. Not grand cinema, to be sure, and certainly not as good as Pirates of the Caribbean, which they are obviously still trying to duplicate the success of, but quite enjoyable. And there's enough there for them to do a sequel if they so wanted.
I could have done with a few more layers of substance, but as a Merlin fan, the young man playing Dave was perfect. So geeky that I just couldn't help but feel for him.
The love story felt unnecessary. I would have rather had a gradual growing of the character's abilities over a longer period of time than this forced rush of exposition/special effects that apparently took place in perhaps a week? Not quite believable. Not that I expected it to be, but still, I would have preferred substance over flash.
Cage's performance is definitely one of his better ones. Whoever was directing obviously did a good job of reining him in on this one, as there were only a couple of scenes where he over-acted, and several scenes where he actually felt the part he was portraying.
Mostly? I think this could have used a few more years of plotting to flesh it out more. It would have made for a more interesting story. And we can always use a new version of the hero's tale.
Overall? Not bad, just not great, but if you like Cage or the subject matter, well worth a viewing.
7/10
