Willow (1988)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1988
	Director: Ron Howard (Apollo 13)
	Actors: Val Kilmer (Red Planet, The Saint, Twixt), Joanne Whalley (Navy Seals, Twixt), Warwick Davis (Harry Potter 1-7)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Fantasy
	Conditions of visioning: 28.05.2013, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: Fulfilling a prophecy, a little girl is born that threatens the rule of evil queen Bavmorda. The child will end up under the responsibility of wannabe-sorcerer Willow (Davis) and he will be helped in his dangerous journey by the bandit Madmardigan (Kilmer).
Review: After Who Framed Roger Rabbit, another movie I hadn't seen in a long time, and actually from the same year 1988. A bit like Space Operas, Heroic Fantasies are too rare for any to be ignored. However there is no need for special indulgence to watch Willow, it is one of the best of the genre, after Conan the Barbarian (1980) and in the same spirit as Dark Crystal or The Neverending Story but without the puppets and more mature. I was surprised to see how much it takes from the Bible (the prophecy child abandonned in the river like Moses) and the original story of The Lord of the Rings (a small person becomes unvoluntarily the bearer of a task that will take him on a journey to defeat evil). Interesting choice to give the leading role to a small person, and to show a hundred of them in their own village! The defects of the optical special effects are clearly visible on this Blu-Ray edition, but they were very ambitious for the time  and I was specially amazed by the tiny persons that walk around and are visible in people's pockets, and some morphing effects that were groundbreaking at the time. The story in the second half lack a bit of ambition but that doesn't affect the global good opinion I have about this movie.
Rating: 7 /10