Willow

When Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon in 1969, the whole world paused; now such things are second nature to everyone, veritably taken for granted as more and more science fiction becomes reality every day. In 1977, when George Lucas made `Star Wars,' it turned the cinematic universe on it's ear with it's scope and vision, offering things neither seen nor experienced by anyone before; now his accomplishments are virtually taken for granted, his vision dismissed by many with a shrug. But in this original story by Lucas, that vision is captured once again and proffered to the world via the magic of the movies, in `Willow,' directed by Ron Howard.

A long time ago, in a galaxy perhaps far, far away, a baby comes into the care of the elvish Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) and his wife, Kaiya (Julie Peters). The infant bears the birthmark of the one prophesied to come who will put an end to the tyrannical rule of the evil Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh). But the Queen, too, knows of the prophecy and is seeking the baby bearing the telltale mark. For the sake of his village, as well as the safety of the child, it falls to Willow to transport the baby to a safe haven beyond the boundaries of his land and the reach of Queen Bavmorda. So Willow sets out upon his journey, and along the way finds an ally-- maybe-- in the person of the self-proclaimed `World's greatest swordsman,' Madmartigan (Val Kilmer), and together (sort of) they embark upon an adventure that will ultimately lead them to a final confrontation with the evil Queen herself.

With some help from George Lucas, Ron Howard delivers this highly imaginative tale-- which bears that unmistakable Lucas touch-- with a touch of magic of his own. A showcase of special F/X-- it pioneered the `morphing' technique so vital to the success of films like `The Abyss' (filmed one year after this one) and `Terminator 2: Judgment Day' (1991)-- it is nevertheless decidedly not a `special F/X' movie. The F/X, though a big part of the film, to be sure, do not supersede the story. And because of that, it makes that necessary emotional connection with the characters possible, and takes the whole film to a higher level. A big part of what has made Lucas and Howard so successful, in fact, is that innate ability of being able to tap into the humanity of any given story (With Lucas, for example, his `American Graffiti' and even `THX-1138,' and Howard's `Parenthood,' `Night Shift' and `Apollo 13') and knowing how to convey it to their audience. It's the difference between being a true filmmaker, and just someone to whom an opportunity is handed who simply hasn't the insight or sense of human nature to know what to do with it (Like Adam Shankman with `The Wedding Planner,' Jeff Franklin's `Love Stinks,' Nick Gomez with `Drowning Mona' or Peter Ho-sun Chan's `The Love Letter.' All movies that suffered greatly because of their director's inability to do what Lucas and Howard do so proficiently and seemingly with facility).

In the title role, Warwick Davis does a good job of bringing Willow to life, as does Val Kilmer in the flashier role of Madmartigan. Joanne Whalley does a decent turn as Sorsha, daughter of the evil Queen, but is overshadowed by the deliciously sinister rendering of Bavmorda by Jean Marsh, whose wickedness is shamefully delightful.

In a supporting role, however-- and with extremely limited screen time-- it is Julie Peters who really captures the attention with a sincere and affecting performance as Kaiya. She has such a pure and natural manner that it's hard to believe this is an actor playing a part; the realism she achieves, in fact, can be compared to that of Harriet Andersson in any one of a number of Ingmar Bergman's films. Her ability is a true gift that endows her with a quality and a presence that would make her an asset to any film, as she certainly is here. And it's a shame she has apparently never been afforded the opportunity of plying her craft more-- `Willow' is her only feature film. It's a singular success, however, and one of which she can be proud. Her portrayal of Kaiya goes far in demonstrating the positive effect a supporting role can have on a film, especially when it's this well acted.

The supporting cast includes Patricia Hayes (Fin Raziel), Billy Barty (High Aldwin), Pat Roach (General Kael), Gavan O'Herlihy (Airk), David Steinberg (Meegosh), Mark Northover (Burglekutt), Kevin Pollak (Rool), Rick Overton (Franjean) and Maria Holvoe (Cherlindrea). With an intelligent screenplay by Bob Dolman and original music by James Horner, `Willow' is an entertaining, enlightening film, rich in characterization and metaphor, with a subtle message and a moral that unobtrusively makes a statement about diversity and the value of an individual's contributions to the society of which he is a part; as well as the fact that one person can, indeed, make a difference. Visually stunning, too, it's a transporting experience truly filled with magic, and a journey definitely worth taking. I rate this one 9/10.

At a stormy and dark night in the bowels of a stronghold whose owner results to be a nasty witch Queen called Bavmorda : Jean Marsh, there takes place the birth of a baby. According to a prophecy, as the innnocent child grows, it means the end of her rule . Howewer, a basket containing the baby carries her at the Munchkins land and darf Willow : Warwick Davis, meets her. Willow carries out his fate by sheperding the abandoned baby on a risked journey to fulfil his destiny as a saviour for good . As Willow discovers that the founded girl is actually a sacred infant who is destined to overthrow the ominous queen and rule the land . On the quest her parents, Willow falls with a plausible roguish adventurer called Madmartigan : Val Kilmer . Both of whom join and set out to destroy the power of evil, the heinous witch : Jean Marsh and her daughter : Joanna Whaley. Along the way they are helped by two small men : Rick Overton, Kevin Pollack.

This epic fantasy picture has more than a few elements in common with Bible's innocents massacre , Moises history, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, and fairytales as Snow White. This is a great adventure movie with too much action-packed, though strangely predictable and the bulk of plot concerns Willow's mission who is assigned the task of returning a child her security , while attempting to free her from the claws of the evil hag and give the baby to the good witch . The picture contains a lot of weird creatures as Death Dogs, Faeries, Brownies, Trolls, dwarfs and a two-head, fire-breathing dragon . Breathtaking climax full of struggles , muscle and magic, providing a thrilling final confrontation . As you can expect from executive producer George Lucas, there is much action and plenty of high-quality FX made by specialists Dennis Muren and Phil Tippet, in addition, stop-motion monsters by Dave Allen. Cast is pretty good with some dwarf actors as Warwick Davis, Billy Barty, David Steinberg, Tony Cox. And popular actors as Val Kilmer and Joanna Walley Kilmer, marriage at the time . As well as a nice secondary cast, such as : Jean Marsh, Gavan O'Herlihy , Kevin Pollack, Rick Overton, Pat Roach and Patricia Hayes as good witch.

The film displays a breathtaking, enjoyable, and, nowadays classic, musical score by the great James Horner. Colorful and brilliant cinematography by Adrian Biddle. The motion picture was well directed by the famous actor and director Ron Howard. From his starts as an actor, as he played George Lucas' American Graffiti , he's had a long career, as he went on as a filmmaker, shooting successfully, his film debut was Grand thef auto, following other hits, such as : Night shift, Splash, Cocoon, Gung Ho, Parenthood, Backdraft , Far and away, The Paper , Apollo13, Ransom , EdTv, The Grinch, A beautiful mind, Cinderella man, The Da Vince Code , Frost/Nixon , among others. Rating 7/10. The yarn will appeal to fantasy fans and Sword/witchery genre buffs.

It's one of those films they starting SUPER GREAT and you saying "Oh my God, what a gem I found"... and as the film continues its getting less better and ends almost bad.

To me, the first 40 minutes are AMAZING, probably equal to "Lord of the Rings" trilogy!!!! Trust me, THAT GOOD! And then... the plot/scenario does a HUGE drop/fall, its getting quite boring and the finale (the last battle) is almost hilarious/joke/comedy!

But... its a remarkable fantasy film, left a mark to the fantasy universe of movies.

Enjoyed this. A good family film. Warwick Davis should have been a Hobbit.

All the people who are complaining that it's "too much like Lord of the Rings?" How much fantasy have you read? Have you read viking sagas or Greek myths? How about the bible? There are no new stories, just new ways of telling them. It's called Archetypal Criticism and it's one of the most popular ways of looking at literature. And George Lucas and Ron Howard managed to do that excellently in Willow.

I'd rather watch Willow yell at Madmartigan and call him stupid than watch Sam and Frodo "Just hold on a little longer, because everything will be happy because of LOVE!"

There's betrayal, redemption, action, the scariest dragon I've ever seen in my life, love, purposfully corny poetry and lots of jokes. The characters despair, but fight against it rather than just wandering around listlessly saying "woe is me!" People are allowed to be petty and shallow without being influenced by The Greatest Evil Known To Man (tm). There's no one hanging around with no other purpose than to be encouragement- everyone claims Willow won't succeed but he still fights on, and wins everyone over to his side. In my mind that makes him a lot more admirable than Frodo McAngstypants who only keeps on going because Sam keeps telling him he's fantastic and he thinks he's going to die anyway.