Wiedzmin

Wiedzmin books (the first two volumes are stories on which this fatal movie is based) and five further volumes i.e. Wiedzmin Saga are perfectly written piece of fantasy literature. I can agree that their author borrowed a lot from Tolkien but he added so much his own spice that at least in my opinion

they are much more exciting that Tolkien's Middleearth Saga.

If only we(Poles) had someone like Peter Jackson to direct the movie based on Wiedzmin Saga (and enough money, but not so much as for LOTR) that potential movie would shake Hollywood.

But for now we can only cry in despair that someone spoilt such piece of great fantasy.

Kind regards, Paul Wiedzmin's(book version) fan

I love Polish cinema. I love Michal Zebrowski, he was awesome in Stara Basn or in Ogniem I Mieczem. I love the fantasy books in LOTR style. But this film killed nearly all my sentiments. What do we see here - very badly done video effects (the scene of the battle with a dragon is especially hilarious), pathetic play of all the cast and above it all - too much of Zebrowski - this time, blond, dirty, proud and uttering such laughing stock lines that it is hard to believe your ears. Nay, do not waste your precious time - this is a random mixture of the images of Sapkowski's books, badly filmed and with a laughable budget. Nothing of the good kind here - just a constant yawning disease all throughout the endlessly boring film.

He gives the expected Gerald of Rivia. And, for a person who do not knows the books or the video game, it is enough. It is enough for a reader of Sapkowski serie., as not the bad introduction in the atmosphere . Sure, the special effects are far to be great and the storytelling is not real inspired. But, for a not familiar with this fantasy universe, "Wiedzmin" represents the first step. And it is far to be a disillusion. But a travel , not always coherent, in few scenes real silly but sustained by a beautiful performance of Michal Zebrowski and giving a good kick to the book serie.

first of all I'm sick of all the people who compare the book and everything regarding this material to Tolkien, which is absolute nonsense, is The Lotr trilogy the only fantasy you people know? it is VERY different, the books are much more realistic and modern. The characters are very real and they evolve with the story in a way which is not at all similar to The Lotr. When it comes to the film i must say it was a huge disappointment, I'm a huge Sapkowski fan, have read almost everything he has written to this day including his essays on modern literature and fantasy. That i guess is the main reason i didn't like the film, although there are some nice moments, like the man-on-man fights which look much more realistic than in most of Hollywood A movies( fights which do not involve the monsters because i consider them to be a joke). And of course Michal Zebrowski who has an incredible voice, imposing stature and has a palpable aura of presence whenever he is on the screen, which thank the authors is most of the time. Also there are a few funny moments and the scenery and music are also quite enjoyable. It is the dividing of the story, the timing and the complete change of story in certain parts that made me angry. A few episodes which are connected very weakly( in the movie, in the book the line of Ciri is much stronger and is given a lot of attention, it is after all the main topic of the saga) and i just didn't get the right feeling from it, thats all

When just days before the film's premiere, its screenwriter backs out of the project, and demands his name to be removed from the credits, you know that this does not bode well.

The books, on which "Wiedzmin" is based on, have great potential for a vivacious fantasy film – "Geralt de Rivia is a witcher; his sole purpose is to destroy the monsters that plague the world. But not everything monstrous-looking is evil, and not everything fair is good…" But all that didn't matter, when a polish film crew, with a low budget, and no, or little appreciation for Sapkowski's work, decided to make a 13-part mini-series out of it. The two-hour film is a by-product of their actions, to maximize the profits.

It's not hard to point out in this case, what makes people label this film as bad. Plot (incoherent, thanks to cramming it with too many stories), acting (below average, with exception of Zebrowski), dialogues (bland), editing (choppy), special effects (unbearable) and choreography (poor), add up to the film's overall bad experience. Only the soundtrack, done by Grzegorz Ciechowski, brings out the beauty of the world of "Wiedzmin", which was never brought to the screen. Even Poland's grandiose flora and fauna (where part of "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was shot), a crucial element in almost ANY fantasy film, were not used up to their full potential. The more I think about this dead loss, the more I'm running out of words. At least, it's a comfort to know, that Marek Brodzki, the director of "Wiedzmin", has directed only one film ever since (in addition, in Germany).

For now, we're left with top-notch fantasy stories and a fantastic computer RPG (released in 2007) referring to the Wiedzmin books. But I'm sure that one day, justice will be done for the Wiedzmin saga, and we'll be treated with an equally good film adaptation soon enough.