Willow

And again, I turn the clock back to the 1980s, and focus on a style of movie not seen for a long time. Again, we step back into the realm of a world not seen before, into the world of wizards, warlords, evil witches, little brownies, fairies and little baby princesses. I speak of the 1988 epic film, Willow.

This film, produced by George Lucas, and directed by Ron Howard, feels amazingly like the recent Lord of the Rings series. The plot is quite similar. A child bearing a mark on her arm signifies a prophecy that could bring about the end of the reign of terror by the evil queen Bavmorda. The child is found by a small village of dwarves, and taken in. After a threat is made to the village, the council elects their hero, Willow, to take the child back to the humans, and make sure it is safe from the evil queen’s grasp. He must form a small band of comrades that will help guide him along his path. He befriends a human (Val Kilmer) and a few tiny brownies. Together with a sorceress, the team meets the evil queen’s daughter, and convinces her to switch sides. They must stop the prophecy from coming true, and interrupt the queen’s ritual that will forever make her the dark lord of the world.

And wouldn’t you know it, Peter Jackson is nowhere to be seen. And thank goodness. This film accomplishes the same thing LOTR did, in 2/9 of the time. Now, to be honest, the visuals were nothing special. In fact, it seemed rather plain to me. But it still had some of early Ron Howard’s influence leaking into the camera.

Action sequences were very strong for its time period. It’s very clear that Lucas stepped in when computer graphics were involved. The two headed monster looks amazingly similar to a monster seen in the layer of Jabba the Hut. Other monsters helped bring me closer to the world it was trying to open. Here is a land torn by an evil queen. Soldiers of all the men that have good in them march towards her tower, hoping to make one last stand. Together with the most unlikely of people to help, Willow is able to fool the queen with simple parlor tricks.

This is a story about breaking out of the roles you set for yourself. Willow, a shy farmer, tries to break out of his role, and become a powerful sorcerer. Madmartigan (Kilmer) breaks out of his care-free, self protective role, and even falls in love with a woman of power. That same woman, Sorsha (Joanne Whalley) is the queen’s daughter, and begins to see that her mother’s harm reaches far beyond what she can tolerate. In defiance, she breaks down her own barriers, and falls in love with Madmartigan.

This film isn’t the greatest, but it certainly is entertaining. With experienced direction, good backing, and good acting, we are taken into a world of magic, and war. It’s one of those films that I have to see every 6 or 7 years to make sure I don’t forget it. I walk away with a smile, and a good feeling. If you’ve not seen it, I wouldn’t rush to the store to get your copy, but if you’re into this sort of film, or just have an attachment to late 80s films involving trolls, magic, wars, and love, than check it out. 6 of 10.