Review of Willow

Willow (2022–2023)
3/10
Cursed meets Riverdale
8 December 2022
After 3 episodes, this show resembles the Willow movie in name only. The tone, atmosphere and characters are completely different in style. It's silly and irreverent. The Willow movie had humor but it fit naturally into the plot, it knew how to balance dark and light moments. This show seems completely tone deaf.

There are throwbacks to the original but stylistically it is unrecognizable. It also doesn't contribute anything unique to the genre. It's very generic.

I really wanted a show that fleshed out the world of the original movie in a sincere way (like The Dark Crystal Series) but this is not it. The chatacters are all insufferable. The plot is bland and disjointed. The pacing is all over the place with very little sense of continuity or logical rhythm from scene to scene. The tone is more like a modern teen drama than it is a classic fantasy.

The reveal of the iconic characters from the original is done in the least interesting way imaginable. The is no payoff. There is no sense of intrigue. All of the characters speak their feelings non stop in a way that is so unbelievable it is jarring. None of the characters seem to have nuances. There was so much potential to make Elora a complex and interesting character but thus far she comes across as self righteous, entitled and shallow. Her personality exists in contrast to her upbringing.

There were a handful of good scenes throughout the first few episodes but there is far more bad than good. I don't even blame the cast because the script is so unnatural I doubt any actor could make it work.

For people who like the Netflix show Cursed and shows like Riverdale, this might be enjoyable. I have trouble seeing how anyone hoping for a genuine expansion of the original film could enjoy this.
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