WILLOW Is Everything Wrong With Modern Hollywood
Vložit
- čas přidán 21. 12. 2022
- I loved the movie Willow. I still watch it regularly and enjoy it even more than Lucasfilm's far more famous and successful Star Wars. I was so damn excited when they announced a TV show that would star Warwick Davis and serve as as sequel to the film. The last time I was this crushed with disappointment was after watching The Phantom Menace for the first time. Willow is a dreadful mess and another example of Hollywood ruining beloved franchises with half-baked sequels and adaptations geared at the nebulous 'modern audience.'
My written post at Forbes: www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain...
My Worst Shows Of 2022 Video: • The Worst TV Shows Of ...
My Best Shows Of 2022 Video: • The Best TV Shows 2022
Subscribe to my channel: / erikkain
Read my blog: www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/
Find me elsewhere: erikkain.com/where-to-find-me... - Zábava
Last nights episode (the one set in the wildwood or whatever) literally every scene is let’s get two characters get together, stand around and talk about how they feel about nonsensical drama and nonsensical teenager problems. Abomination is being too nice to this show.
Nothing about any of those scenes made sense and that princess is the most insufferable bint I have ever seen in a show. Her liberal crazy eyes are just haunting, and she could be a pretty girl otherwise. Disney making everyone unattractive is just getting weird. It's like they are discriminating against people who care about how they look for no good reason
I literally turned it off and never went back as soon as a contemporary soft rock love song started playing before the two teen lesbians kissed. I heard it ramping up in the background and was just like... yeah, no.
"Willow is an abomination". Don't mince words there, tell us what you really think!
Heh
Man left out fucking incompetent between AN and ABOMINATION...
When I was a kid I grew up with Willow, Labyrinth and Princess Bride so I totally agree.
Crazy how telling a fantasy story seems to have become a lost art. Those in charge just obsessively make characters act and talk like present day people, even when it's not Earth (see She-Ra reboot). Sloppy costumes, often not even bothering to change hairstyles of cast members so you have people with present day trendy styles pop up.... just jaw dropping.
One just gets a sense that people in charge don't even like fantasy, don't like sword & sorcery as they just don't seem to get it not one bit.
I've noticed a similar trend in multiplayer RPGs. I played the earliest from the dial-up days like text-only MUDs and AOL's Neverwinter Nights (1991) along with The Shadow of Yserbius (1991).
Back then most of the users actually stayed in character. It wasn't like every user was a professional writer but there were still lots of "thees" and "thous" ("Thou art mistaken!") along with those playing characters like orcs saying, "Me swing axe!" consistently and never breaking character. There was at least an effort.
Fast forward to Everquest and World of Wacraft and the like and I log in and immediately find people saying things like, "Sup dude! Damn, my internet connection is laggy today." There's not the slightest attempt to stay in character.
That's kind of the general difference I see now. They might like the superficial aspects of fantasy like dragons and magic and swords in a shallow cosplay sort of way, but don't seem that interested in being fully transported to a completely different fantasy world with completely different cultures.
@@darkengine5931 I have to disagree. I see that it's the opposite. The "present" players are the ones that wants to be in a fantasy world. The "past" players wants to be a fantasy role. A lot of it has to do with how the gaming industry has changed. I'll use an analogy for clarification. The "past" players are doing re-enactment, while the "present" players are larping. The former wants to be someone who they are not, while the latter wants to be themselves in a world they don't live in.
Is one better than the other? No, they're both seeking the same thing, escape.
@@shawn092182 I see and agree with the basic type of difference between wanting to simply be in a fantasy world where we can be ourselves vs. wanting to also participate in role-playing a character from that world. I might compare it to a tourist who visits a distant country with no intention of learning the social customs and culture or learning to speak the country's language vs. one who does.
I was thinking a difference is that back then, dial-up networks were quite expensive (having to pay by the hour and requiring a home computer which was rare enough) in ways that might have only invited the most serious fans of fantasy books and RPGs (perhaps even PnPs) to these online games.
Telling a story*
This show feels more like a Rick and Morty ripoff than a fantasy show.
Actual line from the show: "Someone concisely recap everything I just missed."
Shake my head.
I don’t know a single person who grew up with Willow and doesn’t loathe this show (thank god). I can’t seem to understand if they made it bad on purpose or if we’re completely creatively bankrupt as a society. How do these things even make it out the gate?
Yes! So much this!!
Eh, I did, and I think it's fine. Its not like Book of Boba Fett or anything. It seems to me people are misremembering Willow. It was a pretty silly movie. I mean the terrible green screen brownies, the "humor" of turning the sorceress into ever more ridiculous talking animals, or Val kilmer dressing up as a lady and talking in falsetto. It wasn't Shakespeare guys.
@@douglashedenkamp1087 but it was fun and it worked. The comedy was simple and silly, goofy even. But it still worked. This didn't. I don't understand your defense of it.
@@kcbondurant7959 Eh, I don't know man, I liked it. I thought the comedy was good, the actors were good, the whole feel of the show was good. The story line was pretty derivative, but so was the story line in the original movie. I liked the mixing in of modern music. I liked the character arcs. Especially the Princess. Yes she was insufferable in the beginning, but she was supposed to be. Her character progressed a lot through the season. It wasn't Lord of the Rings or anything, but Willow never pretended to be that serious.
The breaking point for me was when a contemporary soft rock love song started playing before the two teen lesbians kissed. I heard it ramping up in the background and was just like... yeah, no. That perfectly encapsulated for me what an insult to the movie this all was.
As someone who knew very little about Willow. I feel for anyone who had fond memories of the movie. Seems like a lot of products driven by nostalgia are barely past the first draft phase.
I felt the same way. Watched the first episode and couldn’t believe what they did to a beloved piece of cinema. The show is bizarre and grating.
As JRR Tolkien said, man is designed by God to tell stories. We love stories but these shows don't have stories.
I've had this kind of anger about modern productions since around The Force Awakens. I'd seen the the decline of media leading up to that point but that movie was a particular affront. It was at that moment that I became disgusted and outraged at how pointlessly stupid and terrible these new productions were. Now I'm mostly just sad at how predictably bad it all is.
Isn’t it crazy? Warwick Davis was only 17 during Willow? I think that gets overlooked how well he did at 17.
I know this is going to sound like an exaggeration, but it's completely true: I thought Willow was SO BAD that I actually CRIED at the end of Episode 1. And looking at the reviews, that was the "good one" of the lot!! I've been waiting for a sequel to that movie for 20 years, ever since George Lucas first suggested it and now that I finally have it, I hate every second of it.
Dude same - I made it to episode 3 but I just yelled 'why is this so bad???' and literally broke down in tears 😆
Weren't these Bone Reaver people the same ones who killed that old man in episode one, the same old man who claimed the prince was like a son to him? And these jerks we're supposed to call heroes buddy up with the Reavers and have a party with them like nothing happened. You think Kit might be a choked up about it, but no she's too in love with Jade to care about anything else apparently. And they're taking this time to screw around while the prince is being held prisoner. For all they know he's being tortured or turned into one of those weird zombie-monster people. Princess Kit should be dead set on saving her brother at all costs, yet I don't even think she's mentioned him for two episodes. She's more interested in Jade and smooching. What an awful, self-centered person.
Yup
Finally someone pointing out the rock music!
That is something that has confused me since the show started it feels so misplaced and NOT Willow. What's the point?
@Jack McHue Yeah true James Horner is one of a kind and has written great movie scores. The only time the music was good was when they played the old theme or something similar. Anyway I think they tried, although in a bad attempt, to modernize the music and show using covered hits played in a hipp or cool way. The covers were horrible so using the originals would have been better but still misplaced, imo.
I'm writing a sequel to Krull. Its about a reddit mod who likes cats, dealing with the death of his favorite vtuber. He's got a Krull t-shirt. Amazon seems interested.
I was writing a comment that this show felt like Dawson's Creek before you said that the showrunner was from Dawson's Creek. It all makes sense now. Willow feels like a WB TV show from the 90s and I hated every second of the 2 episodes I watched. All we want is for them to put a little effort into making it feel like a period piece. This is the era of Game of Thrones and our expectations are higher.
Every character in the show is a 1 note, 1 dimensional character. They have the depth of a shallow puddle.
What I found so endearing about the movie is Willow tricks Bavmorda using his disappearing pig trick - not real magic. He fooled her , and the movie proved that bravery can stand in the face of evil. Willow didn't need to be physically strong, he didn't have to be smarter or a better sorcerer - he just had to be clever and brave to stand against Bavmorda.
Absolutely the movie had some 'modern' dialogue ("THERE'S A PECK HERE WITH AN ACORN POINTED AT ME!" lol) , but largely it was reigned back in with the serious underlaying tone.
Speaking of the violence - holy cow, the beginning of the movie, as you touched on, was Bavmorda killing babies. Then we see the dogs hunt down the handmaiden and chews her apart as she makes a last ditch effort to save the child by sending her down the river.
And lets touch on the music... we know it's bad, but truly when you compare it to James Horner masterpiece... I watched the movie with my 5 year old, and she started tearing up at one point and I asked if she was okay and she said "This music is just beautiful" , it emotionally connects you to the story. The exact part was if you look up "Willow • Main Theme • James Horner" , its a 4:24 sec video, at around 1:40, this theme is where it really hit her, it was honestly charming to see her feel that way, because i remember feeling that way when I was a kid too
i feel like the actors cant wait for each episode to be over. there's no chemistry, no skills in performance, a dead plot, or just too boring to care.
Just finished the latest episode and I am at a loss for words. I hate to have to say this, because I had hopes, too, but it sucks, my god, does it suck.
I only made it 2.5 episodes in. I was almost tempted to watch more just to see the train wreck, but I can’t. Based on what I saw it was 100% the worst show of the year. I think Rings of Power is a masterpiece compared to Willow. I try not to let bad TV get to me, but this show makes me physically angry, I want to find the people that made this and boo them and throw tomatoes at them. I can’t believe how badly they screwed this up
Dude, I feel the same. I was so excited on announcement. Then I saw the trailer my expectations dropped like a rock when I saw the cast, but I still was gonna watch it cos I have been wanting this for 3 decades, and at best it will be ok. But each episode actually makes me feel bad. I didn't think a show could do that to me, it sounds stupid, but I guess I was simply passionate about the original movie.
I honestly don't know why they used this IP... the writers/directors/showrunners obviously didn't watch or care about the movie, if they wanted to make their Vampire Diaries-like show why not just make your own IP and be free of having to make awkward references to the movie.
I'm the same age as you and I grew up loving Willow and I was excited to see this series. I should have known better. Watching this is beyond terrible. It's like sitting by the deathbed of a loved one. It is the nail in the coffin for me getting excited for a new show. Even after Star Wars and the Hobbit ruined my favorite franchises I thought maybe a Willow series might work but it's like the writers don't know or don't care how to make compelling characters or stories. I just don't care now and it's depressing that I don't even want to watch new shows anymore. Thanks Willow
Erik has lost his patience with this nonsense…. About damn time. 😂
Yeah man I'm at my wit's end. Too many good shows still being made. No excuse for this crap.
I think that's what makes it all the more frustrating. There have been insanely good films and shows in the last 10 years but somehow they can't seem to make anything good out of the properties I love.
Surely we've reached peak cringe. I thought RoP was the bottom of the barrel (at least She-Hulk is self aware). The lag time between production and presentation is about two years so shows conceived in that time frame are still coming out. The real change is only beginning now (Warner Bros.) so we still have a ways to go.
I've seen some critical reviews where content creators break it down about why it didn't work but I think you really nail the feeling I had when I watched this abomination. I was brutally hurt watching this series. I don't get why they did this. I don't even understand how anyone green-lighted this script. It baffles me. Thank you for your more general breakdown that other content creators failed to illustrate for me.
Thanks!
I think the thing that seems to be going on in Hollywood, is the same thing that's been going on in the video game industry, with so much consolidation of the industry, and all the money goes into a few big tentpole productions. Like how after PS2, good 3D platformers started getting made less and less. Like I loved the original Jak and Dakster, and Ratchet and Clank. But all the industry has consolidated and so all the money gets thrown into this AAA hyper realistic titles, and all so the budget's aren't spread around as much as they used to, and the expectation of graphic quality has gotten so much higher: it's like people don't know how to just be charming and have fun anymore. I mean I was really impressed by Cyberpunk 2077, but recently I went back and played Bloodrayne which I never had the chance to play when I was younger: and I was struck by how so much more fun the gameplay of it was, than a lot of modern games that have wayy better graphics and production values.
And likewise in TV and movies, I feel like with studios consolidating, with Lucasfilm and 20'th Century Fox being gobbled up, and so much money being spent on certain productions, I feel like good talent just gets sucked into a few projects and everything else needs misses out. I mean if you think about it, with streaming being a thing now, the expectation of quality of TV shows has gone wayyyy up. We basically expect TV shows to be the equivalent of a 10 part movie, divided into hour long segments. But if you look at a lot of TV shows from back in the day, a lot of them were crap. With a few gems here and there every year. They were designed to be attention holders in order to sell us ads from commercials. And now every TV show is expected to be "movie quality". It used to be if there was a "made for TV movie", that was code for, "It's gonna be B grade quality". But now, we've been so spoilt with some truly incredible longform streaming shows, that the other one's just kind of pale in comparison. I think over time, as more and more people work on all these different streaming shows, the skill-level of creators will go up, as they learn from their failures, and get better and better. It sucks that shows like Willow really missed out of that, and you'd think they could have just gotten the original writer to write it, but it is what it is I suppose.
I keep watching episodes and hoping....and with each episode, I am left further disappointed.
The worst part is that the movie actually has a sequel that was written as a book youd think they might have done something with it.
Good grief if every thread doesn't have that stupid book trilogy brought up. It sucked and was a huge insult to anyone who loves the movie. You may as well be telling someone that one turd stinks less than the other turd. The new series and the book trilogy are BOTH turds.
I had never seen the original film before seeing the first 5 episodes of the 2022 series. It's still incoherent garbage - a spectacular train wreck full of some of the most baffling writing and directing decisions I've ever seen. One doesn't need nostalgia for the film to hate the series.
Now having watched the film, I'm so angry about what the series did to Willow's character. Warwick Davis was the heart of the movie, and now his character is a husk. I can't understand why he'd agree to be in this dumpster fire.
Witcher Blood Origins Rings of Power, and Willow are all the same show
Erik- You story about going to Star Wars in 1999 echoes my experience almost exactly. At the end, everyone was cheering and clapping and I sat silently for a few minutes confused... I didn't like it. I was so bored and confused and wondering what was wrong with me. Everyone seemed to love it, and I was empty. Then, I read The Secret History of Star Wars and understood. George had an insane amount of talented people who helped him all through the first 3 films. Those films are so bad. It taints all future shows done based on those characters. Didn't even bother with Obi Wan.
I went with some family members when we were on vacation in Florida and I think our whole group was just like...wait what was that? Nobody was happy. I don't remember if the audience cheered or clapped tbh. I think I was in too much of a state of shock to notice! And yeah, it's hard to care about The Clone Wars and all that stuff because of it. Obi-Wan was awful so no point in watching that.
I think watching films as 8-14 years old vs grown-up is different. You can fool little kids with special effects but it's much harder to fool adults when the story is really crappy (well maybe feminists are still easy to fool). The Star Wars prequel trilogy was painful. After watching Phantom Menace, I left the theater with my wife thinking...what the crap did I watch?
@@ErikKain Yep... love your critics! It isn't nostalgia-obsessed, bitter fans as they claim... these new shows are just not nearly as good in terms of quality. Hoping for a better 2023 and that Cavill/Warhammer universe becomes a real thing.
@@thomasc9036 nah dude i watched it as an adult when it came out that trilogy and i didn't like phantom menace but i love revenge of the sith. revenge of the sith was the one great thing out of the sequel trilogy
@@thelilyfarrell "I have the higher ground"...lol.
When you were talking about 'hitting the demo' I actually just couldn't stop thinking about JRPGs. I wish they'd understand that we *will* play the game if the hero isn't a high school kid.
Sometimes a high school kid is okay! Persona games are great!
Wanted to say thank you Erik, love the videos.
Warwick Davis is trying his best!!
I feel you bro... I was kind of invested until episode 3, trying to grind to a goofy fantasy story that is clearly not men for me (about 40 yrs old) but has some callbacks to the OG story.... but episode 4 and 5 totally made me angry. Even more than rings of power, this is a total mess, screenplay, acting, VFX, camera angles, and my god, the story. It is totally a CW bland generic show inserted in OG willow world, that didn't even have a rich world for start....so sad...
Willow doing "the finger test" on the Princess.
I saw the original Star Wars in the theater when I was 13. I so fell in love with it! I saw it three more times that same summer. But, I confess, I hated the next two movies....I only liked the original. So, I knew the prequels were going to suck before the first one came out.
Oh wow, that's crazy. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say they only liked the first movie. The whole trilogy is so great I find that super confusing!
@@ErikKain Haha.....I don't know why I disliked the Empire Strikes Back and Return of.....well, actually I thought Return of the Jedi was too cutesy with the Ewoks I guess. The first Star Wars was so epic...it was a western, sci-fi, romance, action movie homage to the serials of the 30s like Flash Gordon....the sequels didn't have the same feel to me. :)
Revenge Of The Sith is pretty good.
I read some time ago that Apple TV were planning to make a TV show based on the classic Terry Gilliam film Time Bandits. I've since heard it's not going ahead, and after seeing what's happened with Willow, maybe that's for the best. It seems to be hard to recapture the original spirit of these beloved classics.
Thanks for the insight. Will be sure to miss it.
Your forbes article brought me here 10/10. Smart move on their part to hire you, imo.
Thanks!
Some fair points but I wouldn't call it an abomination. Main problems are the bad dialogue, mediocre costume designs and the fact that it feels like a movie that's been stretched out into an 8 episode TV series. I think these are fixable problems, it just depends on whether Kasdan and Lucasfilm are willing to listen to and act upon feedback.
Spot on! 🎯 And it’s just sad…
This or Rings of Power? No third option. 🤨
Thank you for this review! I get you totally and you've saved me from a waste of my time.
Willow was more or less something a nerd thing. It had not the expectations because fantasy was rather rare. I mean, it was years before Lord of the Rings. But less expectations mean more freedom.
The new Willow- and lot of other stuff- lost their creativity to the economical expectationsof the streaming companies. They are not made for nerds- they tried to make it for "normal" people. But this didn´t work.
The original Willow movie is older than many of the cast- so, many of the viewers, who remind the movie are older. Why do they try to make a series for a young audience- why do they try to use a brand for people, who are to young to know it?
Willow had one of the most amazing scores, but apparently Willow now wants his MTV. What were they thinking?! There's two frontier women living in the woods, a Brownie wearing a onesy, and even a Beyoncé reference. It was a disaster. My wife was hurting for me as she saw me watching it and really TRYING to like it...but I just couldn't. I was hoping there wouldn't be a Season 2. As far as I'm concerned, Willow ends with the movie.
My mom LOVES the Lord of the Rings movies. She LOVES Willow. When she first heard these shows were coming out, she was excited, but then quickly realized what they were all about. She was too disappointed to even start watching them. I've watched a lot of review videos on these shows and she was right not to watch them. As fans of these movies for decades, audiences deserve better. My mom deserves better. It's heartbreaking to know what kind of schlock these showrunners are trying to give her.
I was 19 in 1999, and I understood completely the point Georgie-go-nuts was trying to make through Jar Jar (who he'd later describe as his "Goofy"). He was trying to convey a message of valuing the individual while criticizing social prejudice. Jar Jar represents the lowly individual looked down upon by a rigid conformist society. Even the "good guy" societies in Star Wars have elements of authoritarianism and conformity (which often ends up being their undoing). Also, Ahmed Best's physicality reminded me of Bruce Campbell. I like the idea of Jar Jar becoming a performance artist (in canon) like Ahmed, himself. He wasn't meant for the world of politics or military conquest, both of which require a mentality of rigidity and conformity. Chaotic Good, represent!
Note: It always irritated me, even as an '80s kid in the '80s, that Madmartigan's name is "Magmartigan" and not "Mad Martigan." No one would name their son "Madmartigan." "Martigan," on the other hand, is a respectable name. And because of his Jack Sparrow-like Rogue nature (sometimes Chaotic Good, sometimes Chaotic Neutral), it makes sense that people would call him "Mad."
7:11 Plus, ever other sentence is chock full of multiple instances of "yeah" or "gonna." "Yeah" and "gonna" don't belong in high fantasy! Or even medium fantasy for that matter!
10:41 Contrast with this: czcams.com/video/G6i-7eQ3684/video.html
11:17 If everyone aged at the same rate as Willow, then Elora Danan should be in her 30s. Also, she's supposed to be a Gaelic-looking ginger, not blonde-haired and Norse-looking.
12:28 He could be like Jar Jar Binks crossed with Jack Burton (which is basically Madmartigan).
Pulled the words right out of my mouth. Nothing, like the movie.
I agree with everything.
The acting, writing, and costumes were a notch below Xena Warrior Princess. It was unwatchable.
Thanks for your opinion, Erik 💪🏽
I would like to present my idea for a Willow-Serie. When you read it, your opinions and inputs are very welcomed!
Synopsis:
After Bavmordas defeat Willow learned more and more the ways of magic. At the same time Willow teaches his protégée, Elora Danan, some of his best magic tricks, while leaving peacukky in the village of the Nelwyns.
But there is no peace in the Realms of the Western Continent. The Cults of Bavmorda are pillaging the settlements of Men and Nelwyns and prepare the return of their dark Sovereign. Even Queen Sorsha can not put an end to this threat. Meanwhile she and King Madmartigan must confront several rival kings, who seek an opportunity to take the Kingdom of Tir Asleen.
But the greatest threat comes in form of the powerful Warlock Amdusias and the foreign race of the Astaroth. Their fortress, the living Citadel, drains all the magic of Andowyne and kills the environment in process.
After an savage attack of the cultists of Bavmorda and the Astaroth, Willow and Elora Danan are forced, to fight their enemies, even if they not fully prepared for those mighty foes. But through this events, Elora becomes a target of Amdusias, who wants Elora as his own apprentice. A Battle over Elora’s Soul is fought between the kind hearted Willow and the sinister Amdusias.
Like I said: Tell me your opinions, feelings and inputs for the first version of my Willow-Serie. I like to hear them 💪🏽
Targeting media most specifically for teenagers often seems to drain the magic out of the content in contrast to targeting little kids or adults or a more general audience. For example, compare McDonald's 1960s timeless "Look for the golden arches!" slogan to the new and trendy "Badaba-ba-ba! I'm luvin' it" jingle sang by Justin Timberlake taken directly from one of his songs.
So many of the things I loved that seemed ruined by their successors seemed to do so at least in part by shifting the target demographic to teens, even when I was a teenager in the 90s. For example, I doubt Verhoeven was specifically targeting teenagers with Robocop (1987) even though it became so popular with us teenagers at the time. Yet the sequels seemed far more aimed at teenagers in ways that made them unpopular even with teens.
I tend to distrust PG-13 horror films as another example these days until they get glowing reviews from serious horror fans. It's not because I require such adult content in horror to enjoy it (and I would see a PG or G-rated horror film more favorably than the dreaded PG-13), but because I'm suspicious that it was targeted at teens and that often seems to ruin the quality of such content.
The new Star Treks like ST:Picard and STD also seem more specifically aimed at teens. They feature flashy action scenes involving samurai swords and with very trendy teen-style dialogue along the lines of, "That's like, totally awesome!" in ways I suspect the writers thought would appeal most specifically to teens (whether they succeeded or not). Rings of Power also seems targeted at teens in its own way. Phantom Menace as well (too convoluted for kids to follow but too silly for adults). The Willow TV series definitely seems targeted at teens.
I often hear about the wokeness as a major source diminishing writing quality, but I also find a common trend in what appears to be hipster creators trying to go out of their way to relate most to teens and mimic how they think and act and target what they think they like (ex: action scenes that look like they come out of an X-Box video game).
I think sometimes the worse thing they can do is turn a decent movie (which I enjoyed) and turn it into a series
The original Willow was a flawed movie, but thise flaws didn't keep us from falling in love with the good at it's core. It hurts my heart to see how rotten the series is to it's core and despite my best efforts to find things to love about it I can only feel hatred and disgust. This review hits so close to home.
Its* core.
I love Disney+ willow because it's so bad (written, cringe, delivery of lines, cw-ness, bad acting, bad costumes) and I know it's bad and it's not suppose/expected to be good. Unlike Rings of Power which was expected to be great and spectacle of wonders, but turn out to be bad. So there's two different kinds of bad, one is the enjoyable the other is not.
It’s funny, As someone who was in 3rd grade when phantom menace came out. This is how I feel with the recent starwars movies.
I recall an assessment of Game of Thrones/ASOIAF which got into how there's so much sex and nihilism (pretending to be worldliness) because it's, in a way, embarrassed to be a fantasy, and thinks a fantasy is inherently childish if it doesn't add those things. Whether one agrees with that or not, this show reminded me of that, in possibly a more disappointing way. It sounds like it's embarrassed to be a fantasy and so ports in so much painfully modern stuff, because who would ever enjoy or be able to wrap their heads around a straight cod medieval world? No one any more, is what Hollywood now assumes. How miserable.
(Also, it could have been a wonderful, warm, good hearted antidote to all the nihilism etc, as there's no fantasy doing that these days. Live action, are least. God knows Rings of Power isn't.)
Sighs
They basically came out the gate from a marketing team saying lets chase after these demographic dollars, screw the old school fans whom this series should have been targeted for, let's not center the series on the character of Willow and his adventures, as far as story development lets kickoff the first episode by dumping a whole new cast of characters nobody asked for on everyone and lets forget build up, as long we put Warwick in it it'll be fine....
My only disagreement: "the story is boring and generic." Yeah, it's boring as hell - three episodes go by in which nothing happens. But it is anything but generic - I'd be delighted by another fairly well written generic hero's journey with a fun cast of characters doing generic fantasy adventure stuff. That's what I was expecting actually. Nope, instead this feels like it was written by thirty different people who weren't allowed to talk to each other and who hate fantasy storytelling. There's barely a story. Weren't they supposed to be in a hurry to rescue the brother? Isn't that (in theory) the plot? Then why do we keep getting episode after episode in which they just camp out in a location and stay there doing pointless dialogue for the whole hour-long runtime? Episode 5 was the worst... why are they partying and drinking with bone reavers if the brother is in real danger? Nope, "generic" is far too generous - it grants that the series is coherent at a very basic level, and it absolutely isn't.
9:40 I remember that episode it looked more like those two women were wearing cowgirl outfits.
I couldn't have said it any better. This show is an insufferable abomination. The future sucks.
I, for one, would watch a show about Ufgood and Megosh in Quebec!
Experiencing Phantom Menace in the theaters can only be described as joyless and confused wondering if this was even Star Wars
Revenge Of The Sith was pretty good
Still better than the Sequels.
Makes Thorn Drumheller look better in comparison.
They just need content, produce content, consume content, then move on to next content.
I haven't watched Disney since Last Jedi, so thanks for taking one for the team.
The show was not made for us original fans. I was equally disappointed. If the new generation finds enjoyment in it, then mazel tov.
Willows daughter was so cringe
Willow makes cw shows actually look good. Like I have to get high to watch it and be able to bear it, and even during the first episode I watched about 10-20 mins and had to come back to it the next day
Why are all shows being written for melodramatic teenagers? Do studios know that most people are in fact NOT currently in their teens??
Erin Freckle-Ginger is the kiss of death for any production. Whether it's Solo, Falcon and the WS, or Willow, the decision to cast her is an omen of failure.
(I'm kidding of course, she's so wooden she's practically scenery. You can't blame scenery, can you?)
Writers. You mentioned arrow cw writer. Me and my wife have complained how similar this (willow d+) was to arrow at its latter seasons and just how awful those were, and how it's rehashed on screen here is just a joke. Whoever that writer is ought to be banned. It all makes sense now. The parallels, the obnoxious internal drama. It's such a sucky formula and now I know who keeps propagating it. Arrow last 2 seasons was not a success. It's how it died. Why hire this jokester?
I'm actually watching this show. It's so bad it makes me laugh 😂😂😂
Some things are so bad, you can’t help but enjoy it for that
The only way to watch this basically.
Same except I kick myself each time I watch it. It’s so so bad
You are CORRECT.
Ah, another project in search of that mythical modern audience. Keep at it Hollywood, you'll find it one day.
nah man rings of power is the worst in history of tv and is a slap to the face to tolkien. the dialogue, writing of Willow is way way better and is more cohesive than rings of power. rings of power was so moronic and is an abomination via its being 100 fan fiction. i think willow still stays to the original movie being a lil cheesy etc but a classic. i rewatched willow before watching this show. i think the show is focusing too much on girl power which bothers me. what i hated about the newest episode is that girl boss music. that was frustrating and forced. thankfully that part was the only part. they gotta stop with the modern music. it throws me off. also a flamethrower? that doesn't feel like it belongs in willow. i think theres not enough balance but im hoping the finale will redeem the show. i have a feeling madmartagan aka val kilmer will show up on the end of finale to open up for season 2. i do agree with you that elements are missing in this show. i feel like they made willow into a luke Skywalker last jedi in the sense he just loses hope a bit. i think whats missing is the balance of madmartagan and willow together. i think thats it honestly. because no offense to warwick he was great in the original willow but what made the movie was not only having him as the lead but val as the lead too. i missed they banter. seems like they are trying too hard to appeal to gen z and to the original fans aka us. i do hate the whole stupid teen drama shit. honestly i think willow has a lot of potential i think season 2 is where its at unless this gets worse and worse per episode. i do agree i hate that they made two wimpy princes. just for the women leads. doesnt need to happen. you can have strong women and strong men in a show without diminishing them. i think you should rewatch original willow. cause i think because i thought i was gonna hate it too because i grew up on original willow too, so i rewatched it again and there's somethings that arent amazing in the original but i still love that movie. i think rewatching it helped prepare me what to expect and put things in perspective for me too. rewatch it and i think it might change your mind about the sequel. for right now the show is just meh for me. its just okay its not amazing. but its a masterpiece compared to rings of power heck " the room", is a masterpiece compared to rop. that takes the cake. my husband said the same that anything is worse than rings of power, because at least every other show had dialogue and basic writing lol
The Brownies are French Canadians LOLLLLLLL... I am French Canadians and I don't see why we are Brownies but OK cool
It’s so bad …. So BAD! The acting … the modern music … the sloppy story and dialogue … all terrible!!
I haven't watched it yet but I'm feeling sad. The writers are from Arrow and Dawson's Creek?? Wow! Arrow fell a part quickly and I quit watching because I was so disappointed. It sounds like a lot of Gen Z lingo and nonsense.
Thank god it got cancelled
💯
Let's not talk about jar jar...
I just watched the movie for the first time so I could compare it to the show. First of all it's almost impossible to watch anything without the modern prism of "is it woke?" - so f*ck you Hollywood for doing that. It had it's issues - plot holes, irrational character actions, contrivances, terrible special effects, etc.. in fact without Val Kilmer's charisma it would have been forgettable. His performance alone elevates it to cult classic. But I never got the feeling it was preaching to me or pushing "a message". They were just trying to tell an entertaining story so I can forgive the shortcomings. The other thing that really jumped out to me is they had black pecks (similar to dwarves) - shocking I know. I'm pretty sure the studio never made a big deal of how progressive they were or the other side pointing out it's not how demographics work. They were just there and no one really cared - shouldn't that be the real goal of diversity? It goes to prove we've regressed over the past 35 years - that's the actual outcome of forced representation and inclusion.
It is so bad, so so bad. Not just because it’s “woke” af but really because there’s literally no cohesion and horrible bland set design, acting, story etc. it’s honestly worse than ROP in all of those categories. The worst part is it’s a LITERAL TEEN SOAP OPERA from CW
I agree with most everything you say, though I do not consider Willow from 1988 to be made for younger audiences. It was made for families, every bit like Star Wars. It is just a grand adventure set to classic tropes of good vs. evil. That does not relegate it to being kids fare. I was 18 when it came out. I was excited to see it, and like you, i can still enjoy it every bit as much now at age 52 as I did then.
Now, i am going to strongly disagree with you about the gay stuff. Does it add anything at all to Willow? No. It is there purely to push this same tiresome agenda. The whole thing was written around the idea of teens being gay. There was no interest in making Willow an actual sequel. Instead, the name was hihacked by the homosexuals so that they can continue to sell this BS about representation. Let us all be clear, no one cares about representation because nearly every single time, representation gets in the way of having a good cast. All they care about is skin color or sexuality, not acting skill. If they at least made an effort to find the right person for the role who also fits the representation, then that would be better. As it stands, this is just another example of a loved franchise getting utterly ruined by talentless woke fools. Say it like it is and stop being afraid to tackle the real issue here.
I tried to watch...lasted 30 minutes and just said this is not for me. Seems like I got out in time.
I guess you haven't seen witcher blood orgins yet huh?....might be even worse
Black people in 1988! Gee wiz lol
Disney needs to go watch "the boys". They need help! If u want gay characters then watch how they use them in the boys.
The Music and lovable characters is what makes Willow original. This is just Garbage 🗑️
Too much introduction. Stopped at 2:08.
Willow is the best thing I have seen in ages.
The guy making this movie? George Lucas? You’re telling the guy who invented the show that the tone is wrong ? Anyway, bringing that show up during Willow review is weird. I personally like all the prequel Star Wars movies but that has nothing to do with it man you can hate them that’s cool I’m just saying that they are way out of the Willow shows league.
I agree with you that this willow remake is an abomination however, you say you’re OK with diversity and inclusion of homosexual couples and you compare them to Black people. I think this is a gross comparison, meaning, if you are living in a rural village. The family, dynamic of man and woman will make more sense than two lesbians living together. two women will not be able to protect each other in a way that a man woman dynamic would. men were made for laborious tasks. A woman would not be able to duplicate so having Black people, and Willow still will make sense as long as they conformed to their gender roles.
Phantom menace is a masterpiece compared to the trash woke has been putting out.
Hell even Hayden Christians Vader in revenge of the sith was laughably bad....and that's still way better then anything woke has put out.
Woke has destroyed everything we loved and enjoyed about movies and tv.