This show is so incredibly frustrating because it sometimes sets up pretty neat magic tricks but then fails to pull them off and accidentally shows what's up its sleeve.
First, the original film Willow isn't some massive bastion of fantasy filmmaking, but it's definitely a really fun movie. It's a great, extremely enjoyable adventure by George Lucas and Ron Howard. I've seen it a few times and am always entertained.
This show, however, has hints of the fun and enjoyment of the original (and Warwick Davis is fantastic, as always). But then it manages to pratfall right onto its face.
I could overlook the Mary Sue princess. I could overlook that many of the main characters speak with American accents. And I could overlook that we don't get to see Willow for a while. When we do get to see him, the show starts to take off.
But then the show fumbles just some ridiculously basic tasks that could be easily, easily fixed in post-production. In the first episode, the main character is ad-lib soliloquy-izing and talks like an L. A. High Schooler, with dialogue that's pretty much on par with, "So you're, like, telling me that we, like, have to rescue Elora?" In the third episode, one character tells another (and I quote from the subtitles since I'm writing this review as I watch): "You know, your generation has, like, zero attention span for-for epic tales."
In the second episode, there's a scene around a campfire where some of the green screen work is all but showing the green lines around the characters.
My wife just mentioned (as we were watching the second episode) that the show runners completely ripped off the show Britania (which came out before Willow) with the way the end credits and music are exactly the same as the latter's opening credits. My wife recoiled and said, "Oh my god, they ripped off Britania!"
I think this illustrates that the show runners are careless-they're not catching simple things that most shows will fix before a show airs, and that makes this show so frustrating. My wife and I *want* the show to do well. We're rooting for it as we liked the original film, and the show runners keep fumbling simple things.
My wife and I will keep watching for now, but we know the show could easily be a "7" if there weren't so many boneheaded blunders, many of which could be fixed before it goes on Disney+.
First, the original film Willow isn't some massive bastion of fantasy filmmaking, but it's definitely a really fun movie. It's a great, extremely enjoyable adventure by George Lucas and Ron Howard. I've seen it a few times and am always entertained.
This show, however, has hints of the fun and enjoyment of the original (and Warwick Davis is fantastic, as always). But then it manages to pratfall right onto its face.
I could overlook the Mary Sue princess. I could overlook that many of the main characters speak with American accents. And I could overlook that we don't get to see Willow for a while. When we do get to see him, the show starts to take off.
But then the show fumbles just some ridiculously basic tasks that could be easily, easily fixed in post-production. In the first episode, the main character is ad-lib soliloquy-izing and talks like an L. A. High Schooler, with dialogue that's pretty much on par with, "So you're, like, telling me that we, like, have to rescue Elora?" In the third episode, one character tells another (and I quote from the subtitles since I'm writing this review as I watch): "You know, your generation has, like, zero attention span for-for epic tales."
In the second episode, there's a scene around a campfire where some of the green screen work is all but showing the green lines around the characters.
My wife just mentioned (as we were watching the second episode) that the show runners completely ripped off the show Britania (which came out before Willow) with the way the end credits and music are exactly the same as the latter's opening credits. My wife recoiled and said, "Oh my god, they ripped off Britania!"
I think this illustrates that the show runners are careless-they're not catching simple things that most shows will fix before a show airs, and that makes this show so frustrating. My wife and I *want* the show to do well. We're rooting for it as we liked the original film, and the show runners keep fumbling simple things.
My wife and I will keep watching for now, but we know the show could easily be a "7" if there weren't so many boneheaded blunders, many of which could be fixed before it goes on Disney+.