I'm not going too far out on a limb here saying, the Mythica series have always been like role playing sessions put into films. And... some here may disagree, but for me that's not a bad thing. Roleplaying adventures have always had their share of idiosyncrasies stemming from the genre - and they are all here: - a bogus motivation (BUT I credit the script writer that at least it wasn't a damsel in distress this time, but ironically the 'warrior') - a weird step-by-step quest - consecutive fights against hordes of useless bad guys - bogus drama - an encroaching super-powerful evil - a final battle against said super-powerful evil, that somehow ends with: - the critical level-up/deus-ex-machina solution.
HOWEVER, as a role-player - if not a currently active one - I find I repeatedly enjoyed myself, with this film and the other two, and more or less forgave these flaws. And I mind them less here than in a regular Hollywood (or other big budget cinema factory) flick that usually manages to add at least a few flaws of similar nature and proportion. (For instance the numerous flaws in the Hobbit trilogy bugged me far more, as those were made with - in comparison - unlimited money and access to talent.)
The production values present are of course not worthy of A-list cinema, and due to certain developments of big-budget TV-shows unfortunately not even A-list TV. But visuals are functional for the story, not bad enough to entirely distract, and I would say this third movie looked better than the two previous ones. CGI effects were bearable. Props and non-cgi effects were quite good. Fights were of course nothing special, but no worse than an episode of Arrow or other action oriented TV-show that relies on lots of guys standing around twitching before being beaten up one by one. The undoubtedly thousands of dollars invested into a few minutes of helicopter footage over different landscapes add a nice quality and tangibility to the world. Acting was... well... so-so, but then you can't expect too much. No worse than Orlando Bloom, anyway :P
What are the up-sides? The story is engaging enough. The characters have chemistry and reasonable development, and each get their cool moment. The GM-PC is a nice touch, an interesting guy, who unfortunately doesn't get developed enough, and finds a rather pointless end. Even though inconsistent and sometimes cheesy, I liked some of the spell effects. Also the "necromancy" effects on Marek's face are suitably dramatic. There is a nice build-up for the next film.
So: For me this film is a solid 6. And mind you this already includes IMDb rating creep. A 6 means it's very watchable if you like the genre. Flawed but watchable!
HOWEVER, as a role-player - if not a currently active one - I find I repeatedly enjoyed myself, with this film and the other two, and more or less forgave these flaws. And I mind them less here than in a regular Hollywood (or other big budget cinema factory) flick that usually manages to add at least a few flaws of similar nature and proportion. (For instance the numerous flaws in the Hobbit trilogy bugged me far more, as those were made with - in comparison - unlimited money and access to talent.)
The production values present are of course not worthy of A-list cinema, and due to certain developments of big-budget TV-shows unfortunately not even A-list TV. But visuals are functional for the story, not bad enough to entirely distract, and I would say this third movie looked better than the two previous ones. CGI effects were bearable. Props and non-cgi effects were quite good. Fights were of course nothing special, but no worse than an episode of Arrow or other action oriented TV-show that relies on lots of guys standing around twitching before being beaten up one by one. The undoubtedly thousands of dollars invested into a few minutes of helicopter footage over different landscapes add a nice quality and tangibility to the world. Acting was... well... so-so, but then you can't expect too much. No worse than Orlando Bloom, anyway :P
What are the up-sides? The story is engaging enough. The characters have chemistry and reasonable development, and each get their cool moment. The GM-PC is a nice touch, an interesting guy, who unfortunately doesn't get developed enough, and finds a rather pointless end. Even though inconsistent and sometimes cheesy, I liked some of the spell effects. Also the "necromancy" effects on Marek's face are suitably dramatic. There is a nice build-up for the next film.
So: For me this film is a solid 6. And mind you this already includes IMDb rating creep. A 6 means it's very watchable if you like the genre. Flawed but watchable!