It’s not woke. And I don’t really know how to fully define it, because I didn’t manage to finish the series.

⚠ SPOILER ALERT ⚠
after about 17 minutes into episode 3, the protagonist does something incredibly stupid, which made me drop it altogether. Up until then, the humor (within what you can reasonably call realistic for that kind of physical comedy) was fairly grounded. But that decision turned the situation from funny into just dumb, and it stopped being fun for me. But that’s just my personal take.

Aside from that, it’s great. I laughed during the first two episodes. Bottom line: it’s not woke, and it’s fine to watch with the whole family.

A gore classic.

One of the best classics in the gore fantasy genre, with a uniquely diabolical theme. It inspired tons of movies and sequels -unfortunately, not all of them are good.

This is where it all started. This is where the Lemarchand Box was born, also known as the Lament Configuration, and sometimes casually called the Black Box or the Cube.

An excellent classic to revisit if you’re into the genre.

A fun, popcorn movie

for the whole family!

The FX are decent in some moments, but in others they’re so bad they completely break immersion.

Other than that, it’s really entertaining.

Good for a chill, easy watch.

Enjoy it!

A rushed adaptation

NOT WOKE.

I watched the first episode twice and didn’t notice any malicious feminism at all. The first time I watched it, I liked it. Sure, it has flaws - the cinematography isn’t perfect, and the pacing is rushed - but to be fair, coming from a production company jumping into a genre where Game of Thrones set the bar pretty damn high, this is not a bad attempt. They deserve some credit for that. And no, nobody’s paying me for this take.

I watched it because it popped up as a new release on a streaming site, not because it came from the right or the left. Who the hell watches things based on that? Seriously. What does left or right even have to do with it? Unfortunately, like 60% of the mainstream industry leans left, and the 30% that’s apolitical is scared to say anything out of fear of getting canceled.

What actually matters is whether it’s good art or not - and on this site in particular, whether it has woke content or not.

I also know there’ll be the ultra-sensitive, anti-everything crowd smashing the NOT HELPFUL button just because they can’t stand seeing a strong female character on screen anymore. And yeah, I get it when it’s forced - but this is NOT the case. Maybe people should do a bit of homework before trying to sound edgy and posting ragebait in a community that’s clearly trying to stay away from that whole rainbow-spiral nonsense.

That said, to be fair, let me add some context to my take.

After watching it the first time, it was immediately clear to me that the women represent gods or humans close to divinity. There’s no girlboss nonsense or anything like that. On the contrary, Charis (Rose Reid) is shown as an Atlantean warrior who saves her people by fighting a massive bull. After that, I came here and saw it labeled as “feminist.” So I started digging to see if I’d misunderstood the episode - and nope, I hadn’t. Nothing felt forced. At least the first episode is a pretty straightforward, faithful adaptation of the books. Honestly, maybe too faithful - I would’ve liked the fantasy elements to be pushed a bit harder.

There are a couple of moments where the practical effects are amazing, and others where the AI stuff makes you want to look away, and my brain just went: bruh 😒

For some background:
The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin is based on the books by Stephen R. Lawhead, specifically the first two volumes: Taliesin (1987) and Merlin (1988). It’s a reinterpretation of the Arthurian legends, set in post-Roman Britain (4th-5th centuries), with elements of fantasy, Atlantis, and a strong Christian subtext.

The two main characters the first episode focuses on are:

Charis (Rose Reid): An Atlantean princess from the fallen Atlantis. She represents the Lady of the Lake, the mystical figure who gives Excalibur to Arthur and is tied to water magic. In the books, she’s Merlin’s mother and becomes a spiritual, salvific figure.

Taliesin (James Arden): The great Celtic bard and seer. He represents the historical and legendary Taliesin, the most famous bard in Welsh tradition (the mythical author of The Book of Taliesin). He’s Merlin’s father - a prophet who gives up his destiny as a great king to follow a higher calling.

So then I came here and saw it labeled as “feminist.” What?!

They’re two damn goddesses, dude.

What were you expecting?

That they kneel before men while the princess is out there fighting a huge bull in an arena to protect her people? Give me a break. Go complain on Twitter.

Bottom line: I watched it, and I’m here to tell anyone reading this (and thanks for sticking till the end) to judge it for yourself. My girlfriend and I are going to give episode two a shot. Maybe it’ll be good, maybe it won’t - but one thing’s for sure: it’s NOT woke.

ℹ UPDATE ℹ
After watching the second episode (which, along with the first, basically turns into a two-part intro about Merlin’s parents) I went into episode 3 kind of excited. The cinematography isn’t exactly top tier, but the fantasy vibe is cool and you can tell they put real effort into the production. Some of the locations are actually really well done.

But that excitement hit the floor fast when the actor playing Merlin started delivering his lines like he was reading off a teleprompter. So, I pushed through for about 15 + minutes and just couldn’t do it anymore. It’s a shame, because the story itself is interesting, but the acting is so rough it makes it unwatchable, at least for me.

Another must-see special

Summary:

• Sticking to his apolitical comedic style, this time it’s Trump’s turn.

• He touches on sensitive topics and, as always, it’s very funny.

Enjoy it!

Another one of his big hits

Quick summary:

• In this show, he introduces a new character, different from what he’d been doing before.
• His comedy stays apolitical and he’s always gone after everyone equally, but given when this was recorded, Biden got his turn, and it’s hilarious!

Perfect to watch anytime.

Highly recommended.

Enjoy it!

A slice of the past

Good cinematography.
A solid narrative based on real events.

Nothing woke.

If you’re in the mood to learn a bit about the Holocaust through a simple, straightforward approach from a different angle, this is a good movie to watch.

BAD MOVIE

I don’t even know how they manage to make movies this bad.

Terrible cinematography, and a good actor giving a really bad performance in a cliché narrative.

On the woke side ⚠SPOILERS AHEAD ⚠ there’s the completely unrealistic idea that the protagonist willingly gives up any chance of walking again to “save the planet,” even though he could’ve been cured earlier. For some stupid reason, he chooses not to, like some kind of protest against technological progress… which gave me twisted body-positivity vibes, while at the same time using a cybernetic exoskeleton that lets him fight in the final act. Total nonsense. Way too hippie for my taste.

That’s pretty much it.

I wouldn’t recommend it.

P.S. Felton is one of the producers.

Good action film

On its own, without comparing it to any other movie, it’s solid. It’s based on real events, but the real events are definitely not exactly how they’re portrayed on screen → that’s 100% guaranteed.

So it fits into the category of good-quality popcorn movies that focus on telling a story.

As for the woke content, I’ll be completely fair: if this were a low-budget indie film, I’d probably let it slide. But this is heavyweight Hollywood, so there was no escaping the influence. The point I’m making is about the woman in the house who talks to them like some kind of wise oracle there to educate everyone. After that, it’s very enjoyable.

Kudos to Damon and Affleck, they work better together than they do individually.

Enjoy it!

Who is this even for?

I only watched one episode, but the first episode is supposed to capture the core of the whole story and hook the audience you want to keep watching. That hook just isn’t there. It left a bad taste, I kept waiting for at least something to laugh at, and it never came.

I doubt I’ll even get to a second episode. It’s 25 minutes long, and by minute ten I was already wishing it would wrap up.