Willow (1988): Grade: C: starring Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Jean Marsh, Patricia Hayes, Billy Barty, Pat Roach, Kevin Pollack, & Rick Overton: directed by Ron Howard

Is this film available for rent on Netflix Instant and/or through the iTunes Store? Willow is not available on neither Netflix Instant or the iTunes Store. However, a special edition version of the film will be released on blu-ray on March 12, 2013.

Unfortunately, in Hollywood, immense success by a director can and does many times serve as the end of that director’s career in terms of quality output. It could be that the director never had more than one good idea in him/her from the beginning. It could also be that the money and lavish lifestyle that follows that initial success makes the director creatively lazy. Future projects are evaluated less by whether or not they are interesting and original and more by their merchandising and franchise potential. In my opinion, this is what happened to George Lucas and this is what he envisioned for Willow (1988). I can go into a diatribe on what caused Lucas’ creative downfall, but there are plenty of websites and books out there that have explored this subject ad nauseam.

In 1972, Lucas came up with the idea for Willow. “Came up” is giving the man far too much credit because although the film has been frequently compared to Star Wars (which it does compare to), the story of Willow is suspiciously similar to Lord of the Rings (Lucas reportedly attempted to acquire the rights to LOTR, but he was unable to do so). Regardless, during the production of Return of the Jedi, Lucas sought to develop another franchise like Star Wars and he envisioned Willow being the perfect story to turn into a franchise. Warwick Davis, the titular star of Willow, was approached by Lucas on the set of Return of the Jedi, in which Davis played Wicket the Ewok. Lucas was sufficiently impressed by Davis’ performance to offer him the lead role of Wicket Ufgood. As to who would direct the film, Lucas turned to former child actor Ron Howard (who starred in Lucas’ American Graffiti), who had just completed shooting Cocoon and was looking to direct a fantasy feature for his next project. Willow was released in 1988, but as was the case with most fantasy films in the mid-to-late 1980’s (Krull, Legend, Dragonslayer, and Labyrinth), Willow ended up being a commercial box office disappointment and any prospects of it turning into a franchise series were over.

Willow is Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), a dwarf (basically a Hobbit, but here they are called Nelwyns) who finds a human baby next to a river. It turns out the baby, named Elora Danan, is a special baby who is prophesized to end the evil reign of Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh). Reluctantly, Willow agrees to take Elora and find Fin Raziel (Patricia Hayes), an old sorceress who has been transformed into a possum by Bavmorda. On his journey, Willow encounters Madmartigan (Val Kilmer), a mercenary swordsman who ends up helping Willow. Willow is also assisted by two Brownies (very tiny humans) (Kevin Pollack and Rick Overton) and eventually by Sorsha (Joanne Whalley), who is Queen Bavmorda’s daughter.

As I stated before, Willow’s storyline is hardly original. The plot is your run-of-the-mill quest, which is not only iconically illustrated in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, but it is standard fare in a countless number of fantasy stories. Like in those stories, Willow features a hero who embarks upon a quest to find something in the face of formidable obstacles. These stories feature a lot of traveling, usually to exotic places and we see that in Willow (although I disagree as to how varied and exotic the locales in this film are other than in the very beginning of the movie where we see Willow and his friends traveling through the lush, green mountains near their village).

Willow’s plotline also hedges closely to Lucas’ very own Star Wars narrative (the film even contains the same transition wipes that Star Wars has!). Willow is clearly Luke Skywalker, both of whom begin their quest as farmers who dream of bigger and greater things. Luke dreams of joining the Academy and becoming a pilot while Willow dreams of someday becoming a great and powerful magician. Madmartigan is the Han Solo character, an arrogant, roguish, sarcastic mercenary with a heart of gold. Instead of the ‘Force’ we have magic, which is described similarly to how the Force works. Obi-Wan Kenobi is represented by The High Aldwin (Billy Barty), another dwarf who is a wise old magician in Willow’s village and who sends Willow upon his quest. Fin Raziel, the old sorceress that Willow seeks out, represents Yoda. The two Brownies, who are the film’s comic relief, represent R2-D2 and C3PO. Sorsha, who becomes Madmartigan’s love interest, is basically Princess Leia. Finally, we have Queen Bavmorda, who is clearly the evil Emperor and her right-hand henchman, General Kael (Pat Roach – he played in the first three Indiana Jones movies as totally different characters and in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Roach actually plays two separate characters, both of whom are killed), is Darth Vader.

Unlike Lucas more recent efforts, Willow is not a complete disaster of a movie and I think he can thank the talents of director Ron Howard and screenwriter Bob Dolman for preventing it from being so. Nevertheless, despite its strong and promising beginning, Willow devolves into a boring, expensive mess. Like I said, there is nothing original about this story, but the first 30 minutes or so of the film are absolutely engaging and the story moves at a nice brisk pace. I was caught up in James Horner’s rousing score, Adrian Biddle’s beautiful cinematography, and the wonderful performances by Warwick Davis, the other dwarves (noteworthy is his wife, Kaiya Ufgood, who is played by Julie Peters), and Val Kilmer. Lucas made a great choice in casting Warwick Davis, who has a memorable face and an infectious, winning personality that immediately wins you over (and I’m sure his casting was partly influenced by how great of a doll or action figure he would make). True is also of Val Kilmer. His performance and character may not reach the same heights that Harrison Ford’s Han Solo did, but he provides the most excitement in the movie.

One of the film’s strong points is that in the beginning, the story emotionally connects you to Willow’s attachment to the baby, his love for his family, and his motivation to embark on his journey. Much of this is helped by the strong performances, but overall you are not left questioning Willow’s actions or, worse, not care about the main character. Unfortunately, one of Willow’s chief downfalls is its failure to sufficiently establish the high stakes of the story. There are a few vague lines peppered throughout the film about Queen Bavmorda being poised to take over the world, but other than that the only times we see Bavmorda before the film’s climactic battle is her storming around her castle and ordering her henchmen to find the baby. There is absolutely no sense that the world is in danger, that a war is raging, and that Willow and the baby represent the world’s final hope. In contrast, The Lord of the Rings establishes all of this remarkably well. You immediately get the sense that Frodo faces huge obstacles to destroy the ring in a mammoth struggle that has engulfed Middle Earth. You get none of that in Willow. On a smaller note, its never quite clear just what Willow is supposed to do with the baby. Is he supposed to find her human parents? The film fails to provide a good explanation.

Willow starts to fall apart at the point where Madmartigan and Willow reach the castle of Tir Asleen, where they expect to find the baby’s final sanctuary and help from the castle’s army. Instead, the two come upon an empty castle whose residents have been encased in ice and the castle has been overtaken by trolls. Bavmorda’s goons then show up and a battle begins to rage between Willow and Madmartigan against Bavmorda’s soldiers. The remainder of the film serves as the story’s climax and it is probably the most awkward and most boring looking battle sequence I have ever seen put on film. It becomes immediately obvious that Ron Howard does not know how to stage fights and battles. Madmartigan’s expert swordsman skills look come off looking like a child madly waving a stick around. This is a bit surprising considering Lucas’ involvement. One would think that Lucas would have brought some of his action stunt choreographers to stage these sequences out.

In the late 1980’s, computer effects were right on the cusp of being sophisticated enough to allow filmmakers to achieve anything they wanted. Willow pioneered what was termed “morphing,” which basically allowed a character to transform into different things (James Cameron perfected this technique in The Abyss and Terminator 2). In this film, the technique is used to transform Fin Raziel into different animals and finally into her human form. Considering the infancy stage of the effect, it surprisingly does not look horrible even by today’s standards. What does look bad is the blue screen technique used for the Brownies. By now we are used to seamless integration of various elements into one shot and so when we see blue screen employed, its distracting enough now to take us out of a movie. Besides, the comic relief provided by the Brownies was painfully unfunny and downright irritating and the film would have benefited without these characters.

Willow is a poor man’s version of The Lord of the Rings. It is predictable from the very first frame of the movie. Willow has a promising beginning that is helped by James Horner’s score (where you get to hear Horner’s signature shahukachi flute used throughout the film and hear him recycle some of his old stuff like Aliens) and strong performances from the actors. However, the film tends to rely too much on its big budget special effects rather than on delivering a captivating storyline. Kids may still enjoy this film, but adults will find this film, especially its 2^nd half, yawn-inducing.

Red Tails (2012): Grade: D-: starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. & Terrence Howard: directed by Anthony Hemingway

From a reviewer’s point of view, RED TAILS is the kind of film you love to write about. You come away from the movie so angry for paying good money to see it that your anger rises to the level of inspiration. Inspiration to absolutely go off on how awful the movie is. I know that very few of you will feel sorry for me considering the poor reviews RED TAILS received and, most tellingly, the fact that it was made by George Lucas, the Sith Lord of Killing Memories. And you have no reason to feel sorry for me because I went into this movie knowing it was going to be a 2-hour slow motion suicide jump. I knew RED TAILS wasn’t screened for critics until the day before it opened. And I was fully aware of its Rotten Tomatoes score (currently hovering at 35%). However, I also knew this was a pet project for George Lucas that had been gestating in his head since 1988. For every major director who sets out to make a long sought after personal project and fails at it (e.g. Barry Levinson’s TOYS, Terry Gilliam’s DON QUIXOTE, and Martin Scorsese’s GANGS OF NEW YORK), there is a director who comes up with a gem (e.g. Steven Spielberg’s SCHINDLER’S LIST, James Cameron’s TITANIC, and Tim Burton’s ED WOOD). And it is for that reason I am always curious to see the fruits of that filmmaker’s vision and labor. Put simply, what is the big deal with this particular story that X director has waited this long to put it on screen?

RED TAILS is the true story of the Tuskegee airmen, who were a squadron of African-American fighter pilots in Europe during World War II. After being relegated to performing boring reconnaissance runs in territories devoid of any Nazis, the pilots are finally given a chance to show their dogfighting skills against the German’s Luftwaffe air squadron. This story is about a group of these pilots: Joe “Lightening” Little (David Oyelowo), Martin “Easy” Julian (Nate Parker), Ray “Ray Gun” Gannon (Tristan Wilds), Samuel “Joker” George (Elijah Kelley), Major Emanuel Stance (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) and Col. A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard). The story shows how the pilots faced racism and a hostile military bureaucracy and rose above those obstacles.

RED TAILS is a well-intentioned story that a) came too late and b) required a better director, writer, and cast (basically, no George Lucas). Although the HBO-produced THE TUSKAGEE AIRMEN and Lucas pal Steven Spielberg’s SAVING PRIVATE RYAN were both released in the 1990’s, they are recent enough to be remembered so that RED TAILS cannot help but be compared to those films. I never saw THE TUSKAGEE AIRMEN, but I’m aware it’s a popular film that was well-received upon its release in 1995. From what I’ve read about the film, it gives a complete picture of the historical account such that it makes RED TAILS an almost unnecessary repeat. As for SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, that film set the tone for pretty much all future European-set, WWII movies and video games. In a manner of speaking, Spielberg was able to capture the genie in a bottle in envisioning the truest portrayal of the European Theater in WWII. RED TAILS does not look nor feel anything like PRIVATE RYAN and its not intended to do so, but while watching it, you sure feel like it did so that it could at least salvage a little bit of self-dignity.

However, the biggest problem plaguing RED TAILS is the same problem that has plagued the last three STAR WARS movies and the last INDIANA JONES movie: George Lucas. Now I’m not one of those rabid Lucas haters (despite my catty name calling above) who act like Lucas’ desecration of the STAR WARS movies is akin to cursing God. So he’s no longer capable of telling stories and making compelling films. So what? It doesn’t lessen my interest in the man. His failure to make good movies doesn’t take away from the fact that Lucas still made some of the best films in my lifetime. For that, a part of me is still a little curious to see his continuing efforts even if I fully expect them to disappoint me.

What handicapped RED TAILS for me from the very beginning was my lack of interest in the subject matter. I love stories about World War II, but for some reason, the story of the Tuskegee airmen has never swayed my interest. At the same time, with the right screenplay, the right director, and the right cast, this story could have easily turned into a compelling one. I don’t know how much influence Lucas had over the script, but from watching it, I would guess it was quite substantial. Every conceivable cliché is present here. You have the young reckless pilot who can’t wait to take to the skies and kill him some Nazis. You have a hotshot daredevil pilot who breaks all the rules and defies the odds (guess who dies in this movie?). There’s the leader who’s afraid to take charge and lead his men. Its all there. As for the Nazis, they are presented as one-dimensional, practically faceless objects that reminded me of video game bad guys. In fact, everything about this movie is one-dimensional. Nuance and subtlety are foreign concepts in this story. What’s more, I couldn’t tell whether Lucas was intending to show us an action movie that at times looks and feels like STAR WARS or a dramatic, accurate account of racism, war, and friendship. In doing press interviews for RED TAILS, Lucas stated that this film was the closest thing to STAR WARS that we would see from him. Why? Is this the type of story that should even remind us of STAR WARS? The Nazi pilots are clearly made to look like stormtroopers (the STAR WARS variety, not the Nazi kind) and they have a lead pilot with a huge scar running down his face that I figured was supposed to be Darth Vader. Overall, this was a poor portrayal of the characters and I was hoping to see something more serious and gritty rather than something that seemed to come out of a comic book.

Aside from being known to botch stories, George Lucas is also notorious for eliciting bad performances from his actors. I didn’t have to wonder whether the cast was simply untalented because no matter how talented of a thespian you are, Lucas will make sure you look and sound as bad as you possibly can onscreen. Now, we all know we shouldn’t expect anything from Cuba Gooding Jr. (with the exception of his flash-in-the-pan performance in JERRY MAGUIRE) so no amount of bad dialogue is going to ruin an already ruined career (NOTE: Half the shots with Cuba show him putting a pipe into his mouth). However, a little bit of me held out some hope that the rest of the cast, especially the usually great Terrence Howard, would be able to rise above the dialogue. Nope. There were more than a handful of moments that literally made me cringe in my seat after hearing the words that came out of the actors’ mouths.

Not surprisingly, the visual effects work in the dogfighting sequences look fantastic and perfectly realistic. Unfortunately, these sequences are shot so limply and in such a video game manner that they offer up zero suspense. They sort of reminded me of the action sequences in Zack Snyder’s SUCKERPUNCH. For all the explosions and fast-moving action, you find yourself tuning out and getting bored after seeing one too many such sequences.

Harry Knowles of the website AINT IT COOL NEWS likened RED TAILS to the old EC Comics. I’ve never read those comics, but I know what he’s referring to. However, even if that is what Lucas intended his movie to evoke, the film remains an unmemorable experience that made me wonder how 23 years of development could result in something so lifeless.