Gutted, completely gutted. Completely the worst adaptation since One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest " The Musical ".<br /><br />In fact, the book - to - screenplay adaptation was so mangled that 20 minutes into it I wondered if it was actually based on Susan Coopers book - maybe I had misunderstood ? I am a HUGE fan of the books - but even with my many readings and understanding of the plot - it was still at least 45 minutes in before I figured out who Merriman was :( Some good actors in there - I often wondered how they must feel, locked into a contract and just KNOWING that they are involved in something truly awful.<br /><br />The saddest thing is this could have been a good franchise - maybe even a great one - since in my opinion the Dark is Rising series is at lest as good as the CS Lewis stuff.<br /><br />Bad studio ! BAD !