Willow

The first time I saw Willow it scared me to death. I was only 6 or 7 years old, and watching men being turned into pigs, with their skin morphing, and their hands changing into feet just freaked me out. So I never had the desire to watch it again. It took me almost twenty years to come back around to it. I'm glad that I did.

It is prophesied that a child would be born that could overthrow the evil Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh), when the dwarvish children of Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) find a baby floating in a basket by the side of the river. Willow is tasked with returning the baby to the large people, leaving it with the first one that he meets. Who just happens to be Madmartigan (Val Kilmer), the "world's greatest swordsman" and current prisoner. The two of them, along with the baby, are soon setting out on an epic journey to help the baby fulfill her destiny.

Rewatching the film after so many years I was surprised how many of the details I could clearly remember. It must have made quite the impression on my younger self. Which is something that I wish I could say about my adult self. Instead I ultimately found myself somewhat disappointed.

This isn't to say that the film was bad, or that I didn't enjoy it. It was a perfectly good film, one of the better entries in the epic fantasy genre, but it isn't particularly unique, or memorable. If I hadn't seen it as a child I can't say that it would have made too much of an impression.

Warwick Davis gives a fine performance, carrying the film pretty much on his own, for most of the running time. It's a shame that there aren't more opportunities for him to show off his acting ability. Val Kilmer is likable, and charming in a role that's mostly comic relief. Nobody else really stands out, in parts that are pretty over the top and one note. There's not a lot of character development going on in the supporting roles (imagine that, the story was originally conceived by George Lucas).

Out of everything in the film, what's probably the most amazing is the effects. The morphing shots between different characters and creatures were groundbreaking, and ahead of their time (in 1988). It's these scenes that were the most memorable to me as a child, and are still the ones that stand out as an adult. You really get the idea that Ron Howard really relished working with this technology, and takes full advantage of it to tell his story.

There's a lot to like about Willow, but I wouldn't ever call it a great film. It ends ups being just an above average epic fantasy film that without nostalgic associations will be fairly unmemorable.

Grade: B