Actor Val Kilmer came to prominence in Hollywood after playing Chris Knight in Real Genius (1985) and Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky in Top Gun (1986). From there he could have had his choice of film roles but he did two television movies instead. In 1988 he appeared as Madmartigan in the action fantasy film, Willow. On set Kilmer met the woman who would later become his wife, Joanne Whalley (The Man Who Knew Too Little) but the film was not the box office or critical success he had hoped. This month Disney has decided to release the film on 4K in an attractive steelbook case.
When the Queen of Nockmaar, Bavmorda (Jean Marsh; Upstairs, Downstairs) learns of the prophecy that a child will be born with a rune mark and that child will bring about Bavmorda's downfall, the Queen imprisons all the pregnant women. However, when the baby was born, the midwife manages to smuggle the baby out of the castle and sets her adrift on the river. The baby is found by Willow (Warwick Davis; The Harry Potter franchise) who is told to bring the child to the enchantress Fin Raziel (Patricia Hayes; A Fish Called Wanda). Along the way, Willow meets Madmartigan (Kilmer) and the two travel together, protecting the baby.
Despite a strong cast, the movie is slow and boring. Director Ron Howard (Apollo 13) focuses on the special effects, which were pretty new and basic at the time the film was shot. However, this didn't leave him the time to devote to the actual story and the characters which is why, with the exception of Davis, the actors fall flat. The story written by George Lucas (The Star Wars Franchise) and Bob Dolman (Far and Away) is scattered and disjointed. There is too much happening and the story really needed to be streamlined.
The Dolby Vision video typically offers an upgrade visually and Willow is no exception. While there are moments of clarity and higher resolution details, the graphics are shown in a worse light than previously releases because of the higher resolution but that is to be expected. Colors are well represented and offer some light in this otherwise dark movie.
The DTS-HD master audio 5.1 fares somewhat better than the video and there are moments that are layered with dialogue and ambient sounds that surround the viewer. The audio mix isn't great as there were many times I had to raise the volume on my television to be able to catch the dialogue above the soundtrack.
The combo pack includes the 4K, the Blu-ray Disc and a digital download. Besides the beautifully packaged steel book cover, the Blu-ray disc houses all of the archival extras:
- Audio Commentary
- *Willow*: Deleted Scenes with Ron Howard
- The Making of an Adventure with Ron Howard
- From Morf to Morphing with Dennis Muren
- *Willow*: An Unlikely Hero -- Personal Video Diary of Warwick Davis
- Matte Paintings
- TV Spots and Trailers (15 Second TV Spots, 30 Second TV Spots, and Theatrical Trailers)
- The Making of Raziel's Transformation
While Willow made plenty of money at the box office and fared better than the Ridley Scott fantasy movie Legend (which ironically starred Tom Cruise), the film wasn't considered to be a great movie. Davis was praised for his performance as the title character and the movie was nominated for some Academy Awards in technical areas but critics and audiences didn't love it. In fact, Willow has gotten a better response in the home video release market and for those who are fans of the film, the steelbook is a real treat.
Grade: B-
