SummaryWillow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) leads a disparate group of heroes to help save the world in this television sequel series to George Lucas's 1988 film "Willow."
SummaryWillow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) leads a disparate group of heroes to help save the world in this television sequel series to George Lucas's 1988 film "Willow."
I still wish that "Willow" were as consistently electric from the start as it eventually becomes from the third episode onward. Then again, if "Willow" takes a couple of episodes to find its greatness, perhaps the story's spirit dictates that is as it should be.
An utterly fantastic adventure akin to a D&D campaign. Sure, sometimes it borders on cheesy, but that’s what makes it work. I laughed, I cheered, and I was on the edge of my seat. What else do you need?
This show is a delight. It's fun, plain and simple, and a refreshing change from all of the Very Serious and/or Dark fantasies that have dominated the genre as of late. It's great that it doesn't take itself too seriously and is quick to subvert/satirize so many fantasy tropes. More importantly, it has a true sense of adventure. These people are on a quest, and there's chaos and excitement, humor and romance, danger and downtime. The spirit of the film is alive and well. I also love that the show is taking time to explore the characters and their dynamics with one and other. I've seen others compare it to a live action D&D campaign, and while I have no experience there, it does bring to mind playing a traditional RPG--in the best possible way. (No video game adaptation has come close to capturing this magic.) Meanwhile, the cast is terrific. (I was grinning ear to ear during the first episode at how well they crafted/cast the children of Madmartigan and Sorsha.) I am endeared to all of the characters and invested in the story and relationships of each and every one. (And, shippers, all of the ships are just spot on terrific!) I get that there are some out there who wanted the show to be more self-important, but I honestly think that if they just took the show as it is they could find something to enjoy. (Really perplexed at the people who complain about the jokes in the show and then post a gif of Madmartigan twirling and dropping his sword.) I've loved the movie since I was kid, and am loving this series as well. I'm also loving that it is a fantasy show that can actually be watched to tweens and teens. I work with teens, and those that have watched are very much into it. (Anecdotally, one even convinced their parents to keep their Disney+ subscription while Willow airs.) It's great that it is attracting a new generation rather than just pandering to nostalgia and fanservice for the middle-aged. (Hi!) All in all this is a show that brings me joy. It may not be perfect, but it certainly has potential if it is allowed grow/continue. It makes me happy, and I'm glad it exists. Here's hoping we get the next two season!
This is an unapologetically traditional fantasy, with no pretentions to Game Of Thrones-style grimness or Lord Of The Rings cultural depth. But it also has vivid characters, scary moments and fun obstacles, and they carry it briskly along. In the end it relies far less on nostalgia and more on expanding the world of the original film to encompass new complexity and new identities among all these daikinis, and that’s a real treat.
In visual, thematic, and spiritual ways, “Willow” manages to carve out some room of its own that doesn’t feel connected to algorithmic genre expectations or the finer points of a plot from decades past. Still, it takes a lot of journeying to get there.
Ultimately, “Willow” is an underdeveloped legacy sequel that somehow stretches the source material to its breaking point, while never reaching the same heights of good old-fashioned fun that a fantasy epic should have at its heart. By chopping up the story into tedious, overlong episodes, the magic has been bleached from its bones, leaving behind a rotting corpse that resembles its inspiration on the surface only.
My family and myself are absolutely in LOVE with the new WILLOW series. We thoroughly enjoyed the first installment and can't wait to see more! Thank you Disney for giving us something that we can all love and enjoy together, as it's unfortunately become a rare occurrence these days. Everything is so dark and gloomy these days, so finding this gem of colours and positivity was a true pleasure.
It hit my „So bad its good spots“ so that I enjoyed it more than others. However I will not claim it is a good show as there are a lot of WTF moments, bad decisions and scenes that do not work well. As info: I watched the Willow movie and even read the book trilogy by Chis Claremont which I would recommend (if you can get past the initial shock). It is set approx 20 years after the events of the movie. Here we get the first problems. They could not get Val Kilmer back as Madmartigan so he disappeared before the events of the story. Even more Willow and Sorsha had a fallout as she made the moronic decision to hide Elora Danan instead of letting Willow teach her magic. I know it worked for Luke but 15 years of training and she could blast through all obstacles and enemies with ease (Which would be boring to be fair). At least give a better explanation. As Sorshas and Madmartigans son is kidnapped her daughter Kit and companions start a journey to save her brother, kingdom and even might find clues for her fathers disappearance. On paper this sounds awesome and the story has its moments. Sadly there is a lot of bad stuff too. They introduce for example 2 characters to get removed immediately for character motivations sake, use modern music that breaks immersion, characters act because the story says so and they lack good writing. The actors deliver a good performance for the genre. Don’t claim the original is a Shakespearean play. I wont blame them for anything. Maybe the writing could be better but then again I am not sure how much was forced on the writer either. Overall while I enjoyed it I repeat that it is not good. I translate my “So bad its good” to a 6/10.
So far I'm mixed on the show. While I like the narrative so far, some of the acting leaves something to be desired. I suppose there is plenty of time for that to improve as the story moves along. What I don't understand is the other user reviews making comments about agendas and woke writing. Can a person of color or someone who identifies as LGBTQ+ be in a fantasy show without insecure people stating there's some kind of agenda at play? is it "woke" because they exist? Straight white coupling make up 80-90% of what we see in movies/tv shows, why are there no comments about that being shoved down our throats?
The shows is pretty mid right now, but I sincerely hope that people can get past their own BS and judge the SHOW for being a show. None of these extremely negative reviews indicate anything about the show except that there happens to be "woke" characters in it.
Pseudo fanfiction propagandiste… Surtout propagandiste…
Scénario catastrophique qui insulte le spectateur par son torrent d’incohérences…
Cette série est une honte pour les fans du film de 1988…
Pretty dire. The plot is not interesting but the characters are just the worst. Seriously bad performances, including from Warrick Davis who I really expected more of. The acting is just so incredibly flat.