Oh dear, this movie was too cute! I just melt over little people, and Willow waddling around clutching a baby over half his size just made me wanna go "aaaaaaww!" As coming from the age of CG and multi-million dollar effects budgets, I suppose I have been too spoiled to complain about how absolutely TERRIBLE the effects and costumes and several of the sets were, but I stuck it in there anyway. As per the acting, I have never been a huge fan of Val Kilmer and, while he got the nutter part right on, I thought every other aspect of his character was shallow and hardly played.
*SLIGHT SPOILER WARNING, ALTHOUGH NOT PLOT RELEVANT* with regards to the rather, uh, RELUCTANT romance that took place between him and Sorsha, I was practically ready to JUMP OUT THE WINDOW to make it stop- HORRIBLE.
In Warwick Davis' case, although he offered more depth of character than Kilmer, I found his voice- inflection, sincerity, etc- quite unbelievable, and his face never seemed to change expressions throughout practically the whole film- but I suppose allowances must be made for his age and inexperience- he was only 18 when the film was made. Now, I don't even KNOW what actors played the little fairy sidekicks, but they cracked me up more than absolutely anything! I suppose it would be a rather diminuative experience for a male to play a fairy, but they seemed to genuinely have fun doing it, and it showed.
But oh, don't even get me STARTED on the script! It may have been low-budget and from the 80's, but to me there is NEVER an excuse for having a script THAT BAD. Perhaps time has made it more acute in my memory, but somehow in my head I keep hearing Willow shouting and Madmartigan, after he just saved his tiny butt from being killed by some form of ruffian or other, "What were you thinking?! You NEVER drive that fast with an infant!" *shudder* I suppose I can't FULLY blame Kilmer- I think Denzel Washington would be hard pressed with a script like that.
When it came to aspects such as cinematography and music, there was nothing special or out of the ordinary. I also quite enjoyed the fact that all the outdoor scenes were actually OUT DOORS, something that was not done far too often in the 80's and earlier.
While, from a critical and technical point of view this movie is nothing too great, it gets all its points on sheer charm and the genuine enjoyment one gets from such an innocent, sweet movie. Certainly more enjoyable if you're watching it with a bunch of your like-minded female friends, and a GREAT summer movie.
Now, I know loyal fans will absolutely KILL me for saying this, but I really do hope someone will a remake of this film, with minimal to no plot changes, updated effects and IMPROVED script. The only problem with remakes is that you can't use the same actors, and that to me is the greatest loss.
All around: Definitely worth seeing as it is pretty much a classic, and definitely more worth it with your friends.
*SLIGHT SPOILER WARNING, ALTHOUGH NOT PLOT RELEVANT* with regards to the rather, uh, RELUCTANT romance that took place between him and Sorsha, I was practically ready to JUMP OUT THE WINDOW to make it stop- HORRIBLE.
In Warwick Davis' case, although he offered more depth of character than Kilmer, I found his voice- inflection, sincerity, etc- quite unbelievable, and his face never seemed to change expressions throughout practically the whole film- but I suppose allowances must be made for his age and inexperience- he was only 18 when the film was made. Now, I don't even KNOW what actors played the little fairy sidekicks, but they cracked me up more than absolutely anything! I suppose it would be a rather diminuative experience for a male to play a fairy, but they seemed to genuinely have fun doing it, and it showed.
But oh, don't even get me STARTED on the script! It may have been low-budget and from the 80's, but to me there is NEVER an excuse for having a script THAT BAD. Perhaps time has made it more acute in my memory, but somehow in my head I keep hearing Willow shouting and Madmartigan, after he just saved his tiny butt from being killed by some form of ruffian or other, "What were you thinking?! You NEVER drive that fast with an infant!" *shudder* I suppose I can't FULLY blame Kilmer- I think Denzel Washington would be hard pressed with a script like that.
When it came to aspects such as cinematography and music, there was nothing special or out of the ordinary. I also quite enjoyed the fact that all the outdoor scenes were actually OUT DOORS, something that was not done far too often in the 80's and earlier.
While, from a critical and technical point of view this movie is nothing too great, it gets all its points on sheer charm and the genuine enjoyment one gets from such an innocent, sweet movie. Certainly more enjoyable if you're watching it with a bunch of your like-minded female friends, and a GREAT summer movie.
Now, I know loyal fans will absolutely KILL me for saying this, but I really do hope someone will a remake of this film, with minimal to no plot changes, updated effects and IMPROVED script. The only problem with remakes is that you can't use the same actors, and that to me is the greatest loss.
All around: Definitely worth seeing as it is pretty much a classic, and definitely more worth it with your friends.