This was one of the first films to totally immerse its viewers in a convincing fantasy setting. Of course, plotwise there's nothing new under the sun, but that's quite alright. It is fun, well made and really manages to give us a full fledged fantasy world any kid would want to live in.

For many people a childhood favourite and rightly so.

After all the blockbuster fantasy films we've been treated to in the past decade or so, part of me was thinking that returning to this film would be like watching a car crash through misty-eyed glasses. Well, that part of me was wrong. It didn't disappoint in the slightest.

Purchased the new Blu-ray release. Even though it's been about 20 years since I last saw it, it turns out I had a vivid recollection of watching it as a kid. And you know what? It totally holds up.

The locations are epic, it has plenty of old-fashioned swashbuckling action, and Val Kilmer is so F'in cool. The guy wears a dress for 20+ minutes of the movie and is STILL the man!

Such a fun movie! This is my first re-watch in a long time and I had a blast! I think what I love the most about it is that it seems so genuine. The performances are great, even Kevin Pollack as one of the annoying little brownies I found myself laughing at constantly. Although it is very light hearted and keeps you smiling it still manages to have its very dark moments as well. I remember being very freaked out when Bavmorda turns everyone into pigs! The practical effects are still very solid here but the other visual effects have aged a bit but none the less still impressive for an 80's film!

Fantasy adventure films have come a long way since the release of this film and unfortunately the shortcomings are even more evident as a result. There is some nice production design here and the film makes good use of its locations. Whilst the effects may well have dated, its the characters and performances that generally fail to convince, with the exception of Warwick Davis who throws himself wholeheartedly into the role of Willow and manages to make this watchable. Jean Marsh seems to be having a great time, but her role is minimal. The plot is predictable and rarely surprising and the film seems to take itself far too seriously, with some awful scriptwriting and leaden delivery of lines. Perhaps this is due to the attempts at comedy within the film which are never funny, with two "comedy" sidekicks proving to be particularly annoying and serving absolutely no other purpose to the film.

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One question has plagued me for most of my life: How can I be Warwick Davis' biggest fan without ever having seen Willow? At the age of 25 I finally solved the answer to this dilemma by watching Willow, and yes Davis is fantastic. However, what really surprised me was just how damn good Val Kilmer is. The film is really rather funny (I'd be inclined to draw comparables to The Princess Bride (1987) but this is less self-aware) and the fantasy elements are implemented nicely. Sadly movies with this sort of charm just don't exist anymore - perhaps it has something to do with the special effects?

so i hadn't watched this movie in a LONG time and it had been so long that a lot of it felt brand new to me. interesting watching it, much like watching Dragonslayer or Excalibur now after LOTR has kinda written and closed the book on how to do film fantasy. this is mostly fun, little clunky here and there and in 1988, it has echoes of Star Wars past and future. Anyone else notice that the Brownies have the same weird accent as the prequel's Niemodians?
i feel like WILLOW is a lot like Warwick Davis' peformance. it means well, it's really sweet, a little funky but you can't hate it.

I remember watching this movie in the 80's and wanted to check it out with my boys again. It is a fantasy adventure flick with Val Kilmer as a swashbuckling ruffian who is asked to escort a dwarf and a baby through all kinds of danger to safety. I remember loving it and it was still fun 20 years later.

This was a slog. I remember seeing it as a kid, and not even really liking it then. But as an adult, I actually found myself annoyed at the derivativeness, and sometimes the sheer bloody minded rip-offs of other films and storys. Bits are OK, but most of it is boring. I just couldn't be bothered.

Κάθε χρόνο, στις 15/4, βλέπω μια ταινία που για κάποιο λόγο τη θεωρώ σημαντική στη ζωή μου. Φέτος, ήταν η χρονιά του Willow που ήταν ο Αρχοντας ημών των Νεάντερνταλ.