Two hundred moons have passed since Willow (Warwick Davis), Mudmartigan (Val Kilmer) and Sorsha Tantalos (Joan Whalley) saved little Elora Danan from evil. At least that’s how the series makes it clear. Willowfrom Disney+ as he begins his journey through the familiar lands of his story.
This is a nostalgic and at times lackluster homage to the cult fantasy film of the 80s. knows that its efficiency is related to memory. Thus, much of its first chapter is a summary of the main events of the original narrative.
A plot decision that clarifies the series’ biggest weakness as a late sequel. Movie Willow It was a successful experiment, featuring an unusual mixture of science fiction movie codes and touching drama.
But over time, the production has lost much of its charm, almost inevitably giving way to more solid premises. In particular, more daring visions of unusual worlds, all in the midst of a classic battle between good and evil.
Willow It’s a journey down very familiar paths
Series Willowwhich continues the adventures of the apprentice wizard Nelvin, lacks originality and has a certain overall look. Which is highlighted by a story that relies too heavily on source material to create an independent dynamic.
The first few episodes seek to brush up on a series of facts that serve as a jumbled context for its basic premise. From the personality of their characters to their great battles. Willow this leaves the immediate feeling that in order to work, he needs a direct dialogue with the previous crossing of Tierra del Fuego. But this is not a construction that completes the previous one, but, on the contrary, is fully sustained at its highest points.
The decision of the script leads to the fact that every thread of the narrative that is not directly related to the Ron Howard film loses interest. The setting is blurred with constant explanatory dialogue to make it clear why each significant event happened. The characters kindly explain everything the viewer needs to know.
Same old story of good and evil
But it is this underlining that makes the argument invalid at any starting point. Willow it is a current recreation of the great events of the material from which it originates. But contributes little to their growth, exploration, or a fresh look at their most famous landscapes and circumstances..
Even the basic conflict is the same again. Elora Danan, a girl destined to defeat evil, finds herself at the center of the story again. The mystery to be protected is also the central axis of several important events in Tir-Aslin.
Although the little girl was apparently a herald of hope, the story makes it clear that she is now the door to a hidden dark event. Because of which his identity is hidden. The plot revolves around the idea of good and evil, without delving into why the rules of his universe have completely changed.
Why did Elora Danan have an opportunity for the future before, but now it’s the other way around? The script contradicts itself in its inability to go beyond the story it is trying to expand. Thus, both the “predictable” version of the prophecy, which once again marks the fate of the girl, and its consequences, becomes a red herring.
A story that even charming Willow cannot understand.
Series Willow he fails to structure the connections between past and present in a fluid, or at least original, way. There is an artificial note in this story universe, which is that it has quite a few unexplained gaps in the narrative.
From the feeling that everything is happening too fast or, conversely, with unnecessary exhaustive study of symbols, to a carefree tone. series Willow looks like a combination of many similar plots at once. Some intertwine with others without dominating or maintaining a true interest in the premise.
In fact, it takes the series almost forty minutes to explain that evil is about to return to the lands of the kingdom of Tir Aslin. Dealing with circumstances that threaten the lives of its characters, the plot seems incapable of analyzing anything more than the distant past. Again and again the great deeds of the late Madmartigan (whose fate is now a mystery) and the lonely responsibility of Sorsha are recalled.
The hero of the original film, who became queen after overthrowing his evil mother Bavmorda, has a mysterious debt. She is also the mother of the carefree Prince Airk and the wayward Princess Kit, the latter, perhaps, the most interesting and integral conflict. Willow. Forced to marry Prince Graydon in order to unite his kingdom with that of Galladum, she will find her indomitable nature taking her in a different direction.
But even that touch of freshness isn’t enough when the series takes on the air of a fantasy teen drama. By the time Willow (played again by Warwick Davis) arrives, the series appears to have reached a dead end. especially because even the charisma of a cute character seems not enough to piece together the central story.
Finally, a return to the center of everything
During the third episode Willow, the kingdom of Tir Aslin will have to resort to all the wisdom it holds dear in order to escape the realm of darkness. But by then, the show, which tried to defy expectations for what could be expected from an unnecessary continuation of a side story, had already lost its charm.
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Perhaps this is because the premise of a journey undertaken by a group of very young freight forwarders in search of a missing prince seems to be worn out. Especially as the titled magician returns to the central point of the great unknowns that were answered in the original story. What does a magician do? What motivates you to go on great adventures? Willowboth the series and the character seem to have forgotten the answers. Without a doubt, the biggest problem of the series.
