Willow (Special Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Lame.
Review: Hmm. We have an evil queen who is evil apparently just for the sake of it; a handsome, out-of-place American lead; little people aplenty; a human child "who will be great". For ages 4 & Under.

Rating:
Summary: Not so good!
Review: No! Willow, as Star Wars, did not exist if Tolkien have not written His books! The Lord Of The Rings, The Hobbit and Silmarillion are a major inspiration to films such as this one - Willow - and Star Wars!

I'm sorry but this film is even inferior to Legend by Riddley Scott and a must have DVD staring Tom Cruise! Willow is boring! This fantasy movie is for younger viewers like Harry Potter! Have not the depth and strength that Lord Of The Rings movies - and books - have!

I could not understand why - WHY - there are people in the amazon.com, writing reviews without knowing, in this case, "fantasy literature" - like clintthecoolguy (for fun see what he wrote about the SEE DVD of The Lord Of The Rings, The Fellowship Of The Ring - and have a great and loud laugh), who did not know who is John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973)! I recommend clintthecoolguy to read the Tolkien books! And get to know that The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy have seen the light of day in the years 1954/1955 - about 50 years ago! The Hobbit is more older (1937)! And to know also that The Lord Of The Rings took Him 16 years to write!!! Also: J. R. R. Tolkien is knowned as the father of action/fantasy films or games!

The Lord Of The Rings Movie Trilogy is marvellous and universal because it was based on BOOKS! Tolkien books! And that is not saying little...

Willow and Star Wars are George Lucas stories! They did not come from books! There is no piece of literature with the name Willow or Star Wars! It's an inspiration directly from Tolkien books!

Particularly good in the Star Wars films! Not so good in Willow though!

Rating:
Summary: Willow(1988)****
Review: This is one of my favorite adventure films of all time. The movie "Willow" is a great adventure movie about small Willow is who is an "Elwin" (a race of small dwarf-like people who live in a village). When Willow's children find a "Dykini"(Bigger people like you and me)child on the side of a river, he decides to take her to the village council. When the High Elwin(leader of the village) tells him to take a journey to bring the child back to the Dykinies, he soon finds out that the evil Queen Bav Morda wants to destroy her and finds himself in the middle of a great adventure that leads him through encounters facing the great swordsman Mad Mardigan(Val Kilmer), knights, dragons, trolls, fairys, and evil sorcereses.Highly recomended film.

-Watch for the cool scene with the two headed dragon(Eborsisk) done by using dazling special effects a stop-motion animation.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been so much better
Review: This film's makers got a little too happy with the special effects at the expense of actually telling a story. More character development and less loose threads would have made this movie five stars, in spite of the overuse of every fairy tale archetype ever known.

I DID like the way the little-people villagers were portrayed as real, three-dimensional people. Willow's wife was particularly good, an accomplished actress. Willow being the central character of the movie, should have been given more texture. After schlepping the hunted infant all over kingdom come, I was absolutely poleaxed that he hung back at the final scene. I thought of several reasons why he might have done that, but none were given or even really hinted at. Also, I don't know why the minor subplot of Willow's losing his farm was introduced, and then utterly ignored.

Val Kilmer's character could have done with more screen time, as Madmartigan added needed balance and flavor to the narrative. I got the impression that some footage was cut (to prevent the movie from being even longer than it was?) It would also have been nice to have at least a little backstory as to how he knew the blonde, bearded warrior (Erik?) that later joins forces to help defeat the evil queen's army. More lost footage, I guess.

Joanne Whalley's character, Sorsha, was the most woefully treated. She is delightfully nasty as the evil Queen's warrior daughter, but has no shades of anything else in her character until she decides that her attraction to Madmartigan is more important. (Well, okay, it IS Val Kilmer, but...) She needed a good 10 minutes more screen time to make that transition believable.

The brownies (French accents, yet!) were absolutely hilarious, I loved them. Tres Monty Python.



Rating:
Summary: This is probably my favorite fantasy movie.
Review: The small person in this movie has a great deal of weight in this movie. Even though Val Kilmer plays a great backup or supporting role, I believe the true focus is Willow, hence the title.

Just like Lord of the Rings, the fate of the world hangs on the courage and faith of a halfling. This movie appeals to me not because I believe in the power of all people, but because there is humor in every person.

Val Kilmer plays a very humorous role, the failings of an old war hero. Also, with the shortcomings of the human spirit, there is a great deal of comedy there.

I wrote this because I belief we all have the faith and courage to change our situations. If there something you don't like, move or change it. There is a great deal more I could say, but that is at a later time.

-Calvin

Rating:
Summary: A different hero
Review: This has everything - an evil sorceress, a lovable scoundrel, and a young man whose self-doubt stands between him and greatness. There are chases, battles, mystic rituals, and a happy homecoming in the end. Maybe that sounds like hundreds of other fantasy movies, including lots of good ones. This one is still different.

Through all those battles, the lead character never wields a real weapon. He's no coward, not by a long shot, but he's no fighter. He's small, not very strong, young-looking and not a credible threat to anyone, least of all someone armed, armored, and on horseback. His real strength is his fatherly, even motherly care for the infant at the center of this storm of violence, no matter what happens around him.

The credits may list Val Kilmer first, that's just for name recognition. Warwick Davis, in the title role, really made this movie. It's based on a George Lucas story, and I have to wonder where this fits in Lucas' own life. Some of the later movies in the Star Wars series had more child-appeal features in them than the earlier movies did, when Lucas had a child of his own. Maybe Willow's caring character was a sign of Lucas' own paternal urges coming out. Cheap psychology aside, intense fatherliness made Willow into the unique and memorable character that he is.

The last few scenes are the most war-like and threatening, perhaps a bit much for sensitive children to watch. That said, I think it's a great movie for kids, if only because it shows a very different way to be a hero.

Don't wait until the kids are around to enjoy it, though. Grown-ups in search of pleasant amusement will like it too.

//wiredweird

Rating:
Summary: great movie for all ages.
Review: Classic. If you liked Conan and the princess bride you will love this movie.