Review of Willow (1988) by Justin H — 01 Jul 2011
What should be the classic fantasy epic of the 80s is in fact disappointingly confusing and utterly forgettable. Willow (a 'nelwyn' or something) finds a human child who is prophesised (groan) to bring an end to some evil Queen or other. Willow sets out to return the child to the humans to protect his village, and soon becomes embroiled in the quest to save the babe and destroy the queen.
Willow himself could be an interesting lead, but he's really not and is never given anything to do. Surely a wasted opportunity. There are too many characters, the whole thing's a mess and you never really get to know anyone.
The costumes and puppetry are amazing (or amazingly horrible) but the plot is thin, the characters given little time to develop, the bad guys baffling. It's all buried in cliched fantasy drivel, nothing and no one is explained, terrible names fly all over the place and all the evil Queen and big finale stuff is just embarrassing.
It's not awful, and if you have a soft spot for the 80s kids' fantasy genre, then you might love it, but otherwise, better to leave it in misty childhood memory and don't seek it out.
This review of Willow (1988) was written by Justin H on 01 Jul 2011.
Willow has generally received positive reviews.
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