Willow

Sword and sorcery on the big screen with the family, and damn if it didn't deliver.

Val Kilmer as Madmartigan, billed as the greatest swordsman who ever lived? I bought it. Completely. He swaggers through this thing like he knows the camera loves him, and the camera does. Believable in a role that could've easily tipped into camp.

Plot, script, action. That's the trifecta and Willow nails all three.

Warwick Davis in the title role rocks. He carries the movie, and you root for him from minute one. Joanne Whalley as Sorsha, the heel turn going babyface, it works. The chemistry's there, the arc lands, no notes.

Plot, script, action. That's the trifecta and Willow nails all three. The action sequences had me locked in, and the script gives everyone something to chew on without getting in its own way. It's a fantasy movie that respects the genre and respects the audience.

Only knock, and it's barely a knock, is the special effects. They're dated. Of course they are, this thing's from '88. But here's the thing: they work for the era. You can feel the craft underneath, and the seams don't pull you out of the story. Sign of the times. Roll with it.

Catching this in a theater absolutely cranked it up a notch. Some movies just feel right on a big screen with people around you, and this is one of them. Stuck with me after the credits rolled, and I'd absolutely sit down for it again.

If you've slept on Willow, wake up. This one earned its stripes and then some.