The world of action cinema is overwhelmingly dominated by superhero movies andJohn Wickrip-offs. The occasional interesting blockbuster is often drowned out by the constant flow of franchise media. Action on TV is a little more varied, as evidenced by the new wave of high fantasy swashbucklers making their way to the small screen lately. Shows likeWillowdemonstrate what was great about the genre years ago.
Willowis the debatably long-awaited legacy sequel series to the 1988 Lucasfilm project of the same name. It has attained a level of cult success and earnedsolid reviews from critics, but its viewership wasn’t as impressive as one might expect. Despite that, the show is being celebrated for transporting some fans back to classic 80s fantasy films.
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Far too few modern action movies communicate their action scenes through the time-honored medium of sword fights with monsters.It’s all CGI maelstromsand 1-versus-100 shootouts these days.Willowhas its fair share of CGI, but it also has plenty of clashes of blades and a few great practical monster people. In that way and many others, it’s reminiscent of the recent Amazon Prime seriesLord of the Rings: Rings of Power. Both shows are legacy sequel series to old stories, they both take place in big bold fantasy worlds, and they both feature plenty of medieval combat. On the more serious end,House of the Dragonbrings theGame of Thronesapproach to grounded swordplay back to the screen. These three shows represent a beautiful return to classic fantasy action with all the choreography and make-up that entails.
The most recent major big-screen bastion for this kind of sword and sorcery action blockbuster is still probably theLord of the Ringsfranchise. Peter Jackson’s original trilogy and the generallyless well-receivedHobbitmoviesare packed with modern updates of classic Harryhausen action. It’s silly in a charming way. It’s dashing in a way that makes every character immediately lovable. The antagonists look like monsters, instead of weightless CGI ghosts. The simple joy of watching actors and trained stunt performers swing beautiful props at one another in carefully choreographed conflicts will never grow old.Willow, along withHouse of the DragonandRings of Powershould herald the return of this style of action. It’s all over the small screen, but its return to the big screen could change the genre.
Willowis a legacy sequel inthe style ofThe Force Awakens. It brings Warwick Davis back to the screen in the title role, then teams him up with a new adventuring party of young heroes. The new team is the real draw. There’s a tomboyish princess,her young knight love interest, a cowardly noble, a boisterous thief, and the unsuspecting chosen one. When it comes time for the team to throw down, they’ve got a diverse array of skills and fighting styles. The most electric character, on and off the battlefield, is unquestionably the reformed criminal Boorman. Actor Amar Chadha-Patel towers over the rest of the cast and comes equipped with a long sword spear. The entire party is fun to watch in close-up conflict. Luckily, they’re set against foes that match their presentation.
The villains ofWilloware almost all practical monstrosities. The central antagonist, the Crone, stays out of the camera’s eye for most of the series, but her four generals get plenty of screen time. There’s a shape-shifting harpy called The Dag, a masked spell caster called The Doom, an eyeless monster man called The Lich, and a hulking bruiser called The Scourge. Each villain resembles a boss fight in aGolden Axegame. The Scourge gets the best showcase since a hulking abomination makes a good target for swordplay. The heroes are also pursued by a small army of knights who’ve been turned evil. The greatthing about these villainsis their simplicity. One decent establishing shot communicates everything one would need to know about each boss. The show doesn’t need to be a cinematic universe or pack in mountains of lore. It works as a simple exploration of the good old-fashioned sword and sorcery action swashbucklers that used to fill every theater.
Willowsucceeds in part because it feels reminiscent of a bygone era of filmmaking.The 1988 original filmfelt slightly overdone when it hit the big screen, but the sequel series is a welcome return to a classic format. These things tend to run in cycles, and the era of superhero movies has to come to an end at some point. Imagine a decade or two from now, maybe we’ll all be heading to the theater to see the new epic fantasy film every few weeks.Willowdoesn’t have to be stuck in the past, it works just as well as a herald of things to come.
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