Merlin leaves King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table to rest and renew his magic. However, when he awakens, it's 50 years later and King Arthur is dead. Worse yet, the Holy Grail has deserted the kingdom and Camelot is a shadow of what it once was.

The ruler of Camelot, Lord Weston (Garwin Sanford), is betrothed to Lady Yvonne (Tegan Moss), who is the last blood link to Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. He believes that with Merlin's return and his marriage to Lady Yvonne, the Grail will soon be found and Camelot will be restored to its former glory.

Merlin quickly discovers that finding the Grail will not be easy. He's confounded by what might have caused the Grail to desert the kingdom. When a thief named Jack (Reardon) tries to steal his magic wand, he's ready to toss the young man out. But Jack isn't just any thief. He has magic of his own, and it's powerful.

Despite Jack's desire for self-preservation, he comes to realize he wants to become Merlin's apprentice. While Merlin isn't sure he's ready for the untamed young man, he believes Camelot's very future may rest in both their hands. Unfortunately, they don't have much time. The Lady of the Lake (Richardson) has plans for bringing down Camelot, and she has just the army to do it.

A shadow of its former self

Eight years have passed since the Emmy-winning Merlin aired, a powerful retelling of the legend of King Arthur that was stuffed with star power, special effects and amazing performances. But much like Camelot in the new sequel, Merlin's Apprentice is a shadow of its former self. Gone are the powerful performances, the oh-so-cool special effects and the type of magic that can happen when a miniseries rises above the ordinary. Beyond that, continuity issues abound when it comes to figuring out exactly how this sequel fits into the original story.

While it's always a pleasure to watch Sam Neill, his on-screen time is limited in favor of John Reardon as Jack. While Reardon certainly looks the part and has a charm about him, the script doesn't do any of the actors justice.

Plot holes abound in the film, and while it might be easy to blame the script or the actors or the director or the producers, some of the problem certainly lies in the decision to take what was a four-hour miniseries and turn it into a three-hour, one-night television event. While it's difficult to know exactly what was taken out to accommodate the length change, it certainly didn't help Merlin's Apprentice.

That said, if you take this as a stand-alone film and forget the original Merlin, there is some fun to be had in the relationship between Merlin and Jack, as well as Jack and Meghan Ory's lady wannabe knight, Brian/Brianna. But that's in the early going, and the second half of the film is grimmer than it needs to be. The final half of the film seems to forget all about magic. Beyond that, Merlin's Apprentice ends on a pig joke, and that's the saddest part of all.