Rating: 
Summary: Little People, Huge HIT!
Review: VAL KILMER. What more do you need? How about Action, Comedy, Romance, and Magic? Well, you get all of that in this movie. You'll Laugh, you'll Cry. You'll Shudder, you'll Sigh. And you'll want to watch it over and over again. It's a movie the entire family will enjoy. Plus Val Kilmer has never looked better.
Rating: 
Summary: Generic, derivative fantasy flop is pretty enjoyable.
Review: Like most George Lucas projects, WILLOW has a lot of elements in it that feel very familiar. As with the STAR WARS movies (drawn from the FLASH GORDON serials, Jack Kirby's "New Gods" comics, the King Arthur legends, Doc Smith's LENSMAN novels, Kurosawa's samurai films, the WWII movie THE DAMBUSTERS, Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Barsoom" books, and so forth) WILLOW "pays homage" to a herd of sources, such as Tolkien, the Moses and/or Jesus birth legends, Tolkien, Walt Disney's SNOW WHITE, PINOCCHIO, and PETER PAN adaptations, Tolkien, Swift's GULLIVER'S TRAVELS, Tolkien, L. Frank Baum's "Oz" books, Tolkien, and his own initial STAR WARS trilogy. Oh, and Tolkien. Unlike the first couple of STAR WARS movies, WILLOW fails to grow into anything more organic than the sum of its many parts, remaining to the end a handsomely mounted mishmash of fantasy cliches, directed with reasonable efficiency by former AMERICAN GRAFFITI star and HAPPY DAYS survivor Ron Howard.
So, why three stars? It's not easy to explain, even to myself. Frankly, I like the movie better than it deserves to be liked. Warwick Davis is appealingly gentle as Willow, and Jean Marsh has fun as Bavmorda, a.k.a. the Wicked Queen from Disney's SNOW WHITE, curling her lip and cackling hatefully. The two brownies, Lenny and Squiggy, are pretty funny, and Billy Barty has the best line in the movie ("Ignore the bird; follow the river!"). Some of the FX are impressive, not surprisingly, as they're the only things Lucas has really put any effort into since the early eighties. There's an enjoyable wizard's duel at the climax, during which, in a great down-to-earth moment, the aged sorceress Fin Raziel abandons magic and resorts to punching Bavmorda in the face repeatedly; there's also a two-headed dragon that's so stupid it manages to blow one of its own heads off. Occasionally the movie is unintentionally funny. The beautiful Joanne Whalley, cast as Bavmorda's supposedly menacing soldier-daugter Sorsha, wears a suit of black armor that seems to be three of four sizes too big for her; she looks exactly like Darth Vader's cute little daughter playing dress-up in Daddy's clothes. There's further costume humor later when Val Kilmer, as Han Solo wannabe Madmartigan, briefly dons a plumed helmet that resembles a huge Christmas ornament. Kilmer also does a drag routine that manages to get a laugh precisely because it's so embarrasingly corny; the fact that the filmmakers thought that it was funny turns out to be funny in itself. And then there are all those pigs. In fact, WILLOW is significantly more entertaining than, say, petrified duds like the two (so far) STAR WARS prequels, not to mention Ron Howard's holiday abomination HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS. When WILLOW was initially released, the pretentious Lucasfilm hype that accompanied it was enough to skew one's judgement; George, we were pompously told, had "studied myths from around the world before defining WILLOW to his satisfaction." Yeah, right. And Tolkien. He also claimed that it was "a pure fantasy that came right out of my psyche". As Pauline Kael wrote, "Maybe only a movie mogul can believe that he's the source of the world's treasury of legends and movies". Now that some time has passed, and having seen Lucas virtually lose touch with the very concepts of storytelling and drama, WILLOW looks pretty watchable now; a first-rate guilty pleasure, if nothing else.
Rating:
Summary: A Fantasy Classic...
Review: Ever heard of a little thing called "The Lord of the Rings," or a man by the name of J.R.R. Tolkien? Well, an overrated filmmaker by the name of George Lucas certainly has, and it's readily apparent in "Willow," which owes more than a little to the best fantasy yarn ever told. However, despite this breach in a writer's etiquette, "Willow" remains one of the very best sword and sorcery tales that has ever been brought to the screen. This is do in no small part to Ron Howard's lively direction (something "A Beautiful Mind" could have used), some inspiring performances, fantastic action sequences, and a lot of well-placed humor. "Willow" rules.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful fantasy for the whole family
Review: The Lord of The Rings for younger audiences! A light fantasy full of magic, faeries, swords and monsters. Warwick Davis is a Hobbit-like reluctant hero who leaves his family and village on a quest to "do the right thing". Along the way he finds the "thief with a heart of gold" Val Kilmer (who does surprisingly well in the role) as they battle the evil queen to save the life of baby Elora Danan.There is adventure, romance and humor for young and old. I've seen other reviews that say this and it's true: This is one of the few movies our 14 year old son will come out of hiding to watch with the family. If you have a young one (not TOO young, there is some blood and a scary monster) buy it and your family will be watching it for years to come!
Rating: 
Summary: A limp disappointment
Review: The reason I did not care for WILLOW is that, as far as I was concerned, the majority of the characters -- perhaps with the exception of Willow himself -- were not even the least little bit compelling. It was almost impossible to feel anything genuine for, or about, the characters. I really wanted to like Madmartigan and Airk Thaughbaer, and I really wanted to dislike Sorsha and Queen Bavmorda, but I could not. Why? Because I could not find one single, persuasive raison d'être that I could hold on to that would cause me to care about any of these characters. It is almost as if Ron Howard went out of his way to strip the film of anything even vaguely resembling an authentic human emotion. The baby delivers one of the film's better performances, for crying out loud! WILLOW was also derivative in the extreme. WILLOW was billed as "the next great adventure" and yet it suffered the most from being a rehash of all the other great adventures that had come before it. Add to that the fact that the SPFX were terribly sub-par (they were, too; the much-vaunted morphing FX, the wall-crawling trolls that simply looked pasted-on, the lame two-headed Ebersisk...all 100% pure rubbish), and the whole shebang just all adds up to one limp disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Brownies are cool!
Review: When I first started watching this movie, It seemed stupid, but once I got into it more, it was very enjoyible. I thought the brownies were great! I suggest you at least try out this movie...but if your not into fantasy movies, dont pick it up.
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: i love this movie. i can watch it over and over without ever getting sick of it. it looks great on DVD. The storyline and special effects are interesting. Val Kilmer was very funny as Madmartigan. The parts of Willow, Sorsha, Bavmorda, and many others were played extremely well too. i recommend this movie for anyone. you will definitely enjoy it, even if you are not a big fan of fantasy.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good,
Review: Great movie. It was way ahead of its time, it still stands up today. Great story and effects. The DVD, along with its other features, has the best behind the scenes making-of video I have ever seen. It really showed how Lucas works with his directors.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Classics
Review: I can watch Willow over and over and never grow tired of it. Its not just another story of good triumphing over evil despite the odds. It is a story of redemption, and change. Willow, a Nelwin (halfling), must overcome not only his size, but his fear and insecurities. Madmartigan (Val Kilmer) must overcome a past of selfishness and thievery, to become a valient knight. Sorsha (Joanne Whalley-Kilmer), must defy her mother, the evil queen, Bavmorda (Jean Marsh), and side with the forces of good. The story revolves around the baby, Elora Danan. A prophecy fortels that Elora Danan will destroy Queen Bavmorda and bring peace to the world. So Bavmorda sets out to find the baby and destroy her sending the world into darkness forever. Elora slips from her grasp, when a midwife takes pitty on the child and flees. Before she is overcome by Bavmorda's peruit the midwife send the baby down the river on a small raft where she is found by Willow. Willow is given charge to return the child the Diakini, or tall people. But along the way he is chosen to be the childs gaurdian on a much longer quest. Along the way he gains several companions, including two brownies (tiny fairies), a Sorceress who is stuck in rodent form, and of course Madmartigan. The quest leads them to Tir Asleen, but the castle is under a curse. The soldier from Nockmaar overcome them and take the baby. Not giving up, our heros follow them to Nockmaar for the finally battle . . . But you have to see the movie to know how it ends :). Willow is an excellent movie for all ages. Its clean, so parents do not have to worry about the content. Its action pact and yet light hearted and silly. Its not quiet Star Wars, but its still a winner.
Rating:
Summary: Ron Howard Early Masterpiece
Review: This film was a delightful movie with an excellent funny character played by Val Kilmer. The story's main hero, Val's character, Madmartigan, is an outcast arrogant warrior who is always falling into trouble (or where touble seems to fine him). He is a selfish person that holds no scruples. Yet, we are drawn into the character by Ron Howard and watch his development into the noble savior of the ancient world. We are also drawn to the Warwick Davis character, Willow. Through Willow we see a person that has always been on a quest to attain meaning to his life. Often humiliated by his townspeople,Willow through his steadfastness, accomplishes a monumental task...in return he is granted his lifelong dream namely the powers of a wizzard. He can return to his village with pride and a hero's welcome. Although this is an early Ron Howard directorial project, there are traces of the tenderness and feeling of the characters in the story as you, the audience, can sense. This film is funny and suspenseful. I would recommend this film to all age groups young and old.
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