Willow (1988)
Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Warwick Davis
Synopsis:
The evil queen Bavmorda seeks to thwart the prophecy of her downfall, but the child born to usher in her defeat finds her way to an aspiring sorcerer,
Impressions:
George Lucas trying his hand at high fantasy would certainly be enough to get people's attention back in the day. It didn't quite become the sort of hit Lucas had hoped for, but it did become a cult classic with a dedicated following. I'll admit that first seeing this as a child has positively colored my regard for it, but even taking it with a more objective eye, this film is by no means inferior to the other fantasy movies of the era with a fair bit of charm, some nice locations, and even a few innovations in filmmaking. Warwick Davis avails himself well in his first lead role and Val Kilmer makes a strong showing as the swashbuckling Madmartigan. We have Phil Tippett doing some of the practical effects and this is the first time CG morphing was used. We also have a score by James Horner, and I particularly like the main theme, which perfectly captures the film's spirit of adventure. If you're a fan of 80s fantasy, you should definitely give this a watch.
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