Review of Willow (1988) by Kai82 — 22 Jan 2023
A nice fantasy movie based on a story from George Lucas. It might not be “Lord of the Rings” but is entertaining and has good humor. The story starts with a prophecy that the evil sorceress queen Bavmorda will be defeated by a child bearing a birthmark.
Terrified by this she imprisoned all pregnant woman in her realm and observed all born children. When the child is born the mother convinces the midwife to smuggle the kid out. By circumstances it lands at an unlikely hero the Nelwyn Willow (Nelwyn are Hobbits or dwarves of this world).
With that the adventure begins. Like I said it might not be a masterpiece but is entertaining, immersive and enjoyable. The story starts a bit slower to be fair but the later 3 quarters are satisfying.
A fine journey with a lot of character development. The actors are well chosen. Warwick Davis is amazing as Willow and makes a great heroes journey. Val Kilmer as Madmartigan is a great unwilling hero and has also a good chemistry with an also really great Joanne Whalley as Shorsha.
For the side characters I would praise Billy Barty, Mark Northover and the 2 brownies played by Kevin Pollak and Rick Overton. A good cast for a fantasy movie. The humor is also excellent but it takes a while before they start to add a bit to the story.
The special effects were nice for the time and budget but aged not that well (Not awful but cant keep up). The soundtrack is sneakingly good. I barely noticed how fitting it is. Not that I would buy it but definitely good.
Overall I give an 8/10 and would recommend it. Worth watching but misses to be a classic.
This review of Willow (1988) was written by Kai82 on 22 Jan 2023.
Willow has generally received positive reviews.
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