Willow

For its day, Willow was one of the better fantasy movies. The effects look a little dated now (especially the two-headed beastie) but it has enough humour and action to keep most satisfied. It's no LOTR, but then it was made 14 years ago.

Warwick Davis plays Willow, a Nelwynn, a race of hobbit-sized folk who don't have anything to do with "The Big People" as they call humans. Basically, it's the Shire transplanted into this movie, but without the budget. Billy Barty is the village's wizard and basically plays the character Gweldor again (from Masters of the Universe) but without the silly make-up and stupid musical key.

Val Kilmer is Madmartigan, a human warrior who befriends Willow and helps him on his journey with varying degrees of ulterior motive.

The acting is all reasonably good. Warwick Davis was only 18 when this film was released so his performance is very good considering his age and lack of experience (prior to this he'd played a goblin in Labyrinth and an ewok in Return of the Jedi). It's also interesting to see Pat Roach here. Pat was a former wrestler and has carved out a little niche for himself playing villains and tough guys. Here he plays General Kael, the right-hand henchman of Queen Bavmorda, played with gusto by Jean Marsh. That woman is truly frightening.

It's all good fun and the two funniest characters in the movie are Franjean and Rool, two Brownies, who "help" Willow regardless of the latters wishes. They have the funniest double act and reminded me more than a little of Merry and Pippin in LOTR.

All in all well worth a watch if you want some pure, and somewhat silly, entertainment.

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

I remember seeing this film in theaters back in '88 and long to see it again on the big screen. There is a motherload of crappy fantasy flicks out there and this one is better than most. I was kinda young when I saw it and didn't find it too violent but some parents may think it gruesome at times. I myself feel that gave it an edge. Along with swordplay there are nasty trolls,a 2-headed beast,mean-spirited characters and some intense scenes at the end. Of course there are lots of special effects. This was a technically well made film with awesome cinematography and interesting locations. Every now and again Fox airs the movie but it's 2 1/2 hr running can be really cut. Ya gotta see it!

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.

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.