Big Adventure, Small Adventurer

George Lucas has a less than stellar record as of late. As flawed as it is, his best movie in the last ten years is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. As many critics (Not this one mind you, I loved it) would suggest, Lucas has lost his once magic touch. But, keep in mind, even before The Phantom Menace; Lucas’s track record was also less than stellar. His involvement in films outside the Star Wars pantheon didn’t bring audiences a running. Though they found new life on video, these other films where much maligned in theatres, found new life at homes in the Eighties.

One such project is the ambitious and exciting film Willow. A high fantasy directed by Ron Howard with a story and concept by George Lucas, this wild and wooly film, aims at creating a whole new world for the viewer to inhabit, while pulling from known resources to create a familiarity, so things don’t seem so alien.

The story concerns a race of small people called “The Nelwyns”, not unlike the Hobbits, who are farmers and simple folk who stay away from normal sized people. One such Nelwyn is a farmer and a magician named Willow. Due to a prophecy that a princess will be born who will destroy an evil queen, Willow is thrown into a situation where he must protect said princess from destruction before she can fulfill her destiny. Along the way, he meets dragons, trolls, armies, drunkard, brownies, fairies, and master swordsmen (Madmartigan, played with amazing gusto by Val “I’ll be a Republican Senator soon” Kilmer).

This film is an odd anomaly. A moderate hit when released, it found its audience of small children and families on video. Its direction, handled with auteur sensibilities by Howard, is a little rough, but good. He allows you to become engrossed by this world and its peoples while telling the story effectively. But that also causes a few problems. Pacing for one. The film hits just a few snags with scenes of travel, and a few talky sequences that, though important, can be like speed bumps. Not enough to make it stop, but it slows down and bumps along just enough to be a minor inconvenience. Ron Howard was still quite early in his career, so he hadn’t set a foothold in the industry. He was known primarily for low budget comedies, and directing the film Cocoon, a film Lucas did the special effects for.

The special effects (supplied by Industrial Light and Magic) for Willow, range from neat in camera tricks, primitive blue screen projection, to early uses of computer morphing techniques later used by Michael Jackson in the famous “Black or White” video. Even the primitive and badly executed special effects seem quaint, because they help remind you of a time when this was the pinnacle of technology.

The lead is played by Warwick Davis, a “little person” by birth, but there is nothing little about him. He’s talented and has a great acting ability, as well as comedic timing. He plays the physical side of Willow just as well as the big people. Also, Val Kilmer is incredible. He plays his wild, lone gunman swordsman perfectly. Kevin Pollack as a drunk, amorous brownie is a treat, as well as Billy Barty as a wizard is pitch perfect. This film is such a success due to, not only the way it looks, but how the actors make you feel. It doesn’t feel fake or silly. No one is playing this for camp.

Willow is a good movie with a lot of things going for it. It’s fun and exciting, a little cheesy, but all in all, the effort is not wasted. There are wonderful things happening on screen, and is you believe in magic, you might just enjoy it more.

by Henri Cheramie

~ by themissingink on May 18, 2009.