Willow l Non-nostalgic re-watch

so i finally re-watched Willow. i haven't seen the movie in full in probably 20 year. i tried once in the mid-00s but auto-rejected it as a ripoff of the LOTR. well i can say while there were similarities that was a bit...harsh

first thing, the music in the movie is immortal. amazing main theme and the little things like that little horn when bad guys show up, just great

Kilmer kills it, but sadly, this is the movie that led to his personal downfall (he married Joanne Whalley shortly after this film after meeting her during production). Willow actually was directly responsible for the destruction of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau for this reason (ironically, with a human-animal hybrid scene at that. GET TO WORK CONSPIRACY THEORISTS)

the story is fine but certainly aimed for kids. nothing too complex and that's fine. the one shocking thing is that for a movie clearly focused on kids, HOLY shite did they have some dark shite in it. the Satanic-esque rituals, the pig dogs killing shite, and the rotting corpses in crow's cages. the movie is pretty metal

the world building was great so it's kind of cool they're creating a series in this world. there is a LOT going on in this movie outside of the main plot. tons of politics, war, etc that's referenced and only done off screen.

the set design, costumes, and locations are amazing. it's a cliche but they really don't make em like this anymore (CGI makes it too easy). and on that note, the VFX hold up today and really show you how CGI pollute things. watching a movie like this compared to a random fantasy movie today is mind-blowing. kind of like Conan then v. now.