kestrel-15

Key caveat: my.wife and I have never watched the Witcher. Thus, we didn't watch this as a prequel. We simply thought it looked cool from the preview - comparisons to Game of Thrones looked valid - so we tried it.

And absolutely loved it!

If you simply watch this as its own story, unencumbered by expectations about what it should be, Blood Origin is outstanding!

The world, the story, the characters, the acting, the art, cinematography, special effects, and especially the music - all incredible.

I gather from other reviews that this changed or betrayed what the Witcher already is or should be. And I get why that pissed people off. I hate when they change or ruin stories I love too. We just happened to be ignrant in this case, so truly enjoyed this.

I don't know how good it is as a prequel, but that's not why we watched it. If you just want a good, high fantasy mini-series, this is as good as any I've ever seen. It reminds, in moments, of a great D&D adventure, or the Lord of the Rings, or Game of Thrones. The story is excellent and the action is wonderful.

But especially the acting! Wonderfully cast and masterfully performed. We cared about theses characters. We FELT their feelings - when they loved, hated, triumphed, or lost.

I'll say it again: may not be true to the Witcher, and if not I'lll make no excuses for that, but taken on its own this is one hell of a great story!

My wife and I were blown away! Without question, this is the highest quality CGI we've ever seen. The characters and settings all looked fantastic. The various kinds of magic were incredibly beautiful. The girls were incredibly cute. I grew up loving books, but increasingly enjoying movies and video games. It is a delight when these bring sights I could not have imagined - and this movie is a great example. Places and characters weird and wonderful, of multiple genres.

Another reviewer felt the writers really love tragedy. This begs two responses. First, this tale wasn't written for this movie. White Snake is a Chinese legend, at least hundreds of years old. This is an adaptation, and the writers took creative license, but the basic story is already set - like any telling of King Arthur, Aladdin, etc. Second, watch the ending more closely, and think about it. This is not actually a tragedy. There is also a post credit scene, which ends the movie quite delightfully.

In short, a fun treat for all sorts of audiences. Especially those who like Chinese legends. But more beautifully brought to screen than any animated film I've seen before. This raised the bar. I can't wait for more!

As other reviews have summarized well, this is incredibly disappointing compared to the first movie. Wish we hadn't wasted our money. Cannot understand how they got the stellar cast to come back and agree to such a weak sequel -- which became even more of a let down since they added even more top talent! Sequels often disappoint, but this was such a steep decline as to defy explanation.