We had to wait a long time for the release of The Witcher from Netflix. The project attracted many glances and became the object of close attention from the very announcement. After all, the gaming industry still considers The Witcher: Wild Hunt the ultimate RPG. Five years have passed since its release, and on December 20, 2019, the series was released.
The history of The Witcher can be roughly divided into three parts: books, games and film adaptations. We will talk about books later, games can be discussed for a very long time (after all, it is thanks to the Witcher series of games that the expression “Polish games” no longer sounds like an insult). And of the two film adaptations, it’s not customary to remember the first: it never made it outside of Poland, there were obvious problems with the plot, and in general the whole series was worth like three chocolates.
But we will talk about the second film adaptation in detail. Netflix is good when it deals with original projects (the cartoon Prince Dragon, although at first it put me off with its art, but once I gave it a chance, all three seasons were devoured in one marathon, their Devilman reminded me that if you cry for three days in a row after the death of characters, you can easily get a violation of the water-alkaline balance, and I sometimes rewatch the first season of Castlevania on dark lonely evenings), but the clouds gather if they get their hands on a franchise with an established fan base. I still sometimes wake up in a cold sweat with nightmares about what they did with Death Note. So you can understand the tension with which everyone followed the progress of the project.
In part, the curse of the “Netflix adaptation” has passed White Wolf. But, unfortunately, only partly.
First, let’s go over what is really capable of causing almost physical pain to both a fan and an ordinary viewer.
Guys, get ready! If the dialogue from the books doesn’t bounce off your teeth, and you don’t draw up the most detailed political map of Nilfgaard yourself on dark winter nights, then the first half of the series will be utter misery. And the series is completely focused on the book source. The entire first season (and the series has already been renewed) is a crazy mixture of storylines, different segments of timelines and characters. It’s best if you have a friend who is a True Fan TM. In this case, there is a chance not to run to Wikipedia every second.
When the scriptwriters were asked why it was necessary to overcomplicate the narrative so much, in which “the devil himself will now break his leg,” the only thing they answered was: “Well, we needed to somehow introduce Cirilla.”. And here we come to the next problem.
If the ultimate in annoying moaning could be embodied in one small girl, it would be Ciri. The most disappointing thing is that she is not the worst character and I know from Wild Hunt that she can be cool and intriguing, and the actress really tries. But there’s too much of it. Unreasonably many. Cut her scenes by a third and the series wouldn’t have lost anything. Yes, and perhaps it was worth holding off her appearance until the second season and not sculpting the originals of all possible characters into one.
Severe form of mycaste syndrome. https://ukcryptocasinos.co.uk/bonus/ Complete failure. The same echo of the “Netflix adaptation”. But one out of fifty is not the worst result, as opined to me. Could it have been done better?? Can. Did they do? No.
Surprisingly, the cons ended there. If you endure the headache after the first episodes, then suddenly the series will open up from a new side. It levels out and a really interesting and exciting story begins. The pros more than outweigh all the cons that even the most pessimistic and picky viewer might think about.
It’s hard to believe now, but Henry Cavill… pulled it off! Yes, this Geralt is not from the game Rivia and he most likely has little in common with his book counterpart. Oh well! If there can be as many Jokers as you want, why can’t there be as many Geralts as you want?? He’s gloomy, grumpy, and disgruntled for about two-thirds of the series, and the rest of the time he’s either grinning during a fight or silently indulging in drama somewhere in a remote corner. So Superman really managed to create an image that is quite unique and at the same time does not stray far from the original. Well, the pupils are not like a cat’s, but during filming they obviously used lenses and everyone who has ever tried to wear colored lenses knows how much hemorrhoids they cause. But drawing on a computer is a waste of time (and maybe it’s not worth drawing anything on Henry Cavill’s face, otherwise his upper lip is clearly haunting bad film reviewers in hell).
Gentlemen, the bard Buttercup is the decoration of this series, that very pearl. Sheer pleasure and absolute absurdity are combined in this character. Ever since the games he won my heart, and it only beat stronger from the new incarnation.
Funfact: At some point the creators considered changing his orientation. The discussion was about as furious as that over Ciri’s skin color. On the one hand, making the most inveterate womanizer gay is about as absurd as casting a dark-skinned actress in the role of the lightest-skinned heroine in the franchise. (And we all remember how well this worked with Detective L in that very film adaptation of “Death Note”) On the other hand, there are more than two sexual orientations, and Buttercup from just red tape behind every skirt could be changed into red tape behind any person he liked (and let’s admit, he always did this, but without sexual connotations). The character wouldn’t lose much from this, and in some cases he might even win. But this is still a “Netflix adaptation”, and they have always had problems with heterorepresentation. So it’s even better that Buttercup, as charming as he was, remains so.
She is logically intertwined with Buttercup. It is atmospheric and perfectly complements what is happening. Doesn’t pull the blanket over yourself, but doesn’t let you forget about yourself. And several OSTs will definitely become part of my playlist. At a minimum, the entire Internet now knows that the Witchers should be paid in minted coin.
At a very high level. The shots are pleasing to the eye, and the camera knows exactly from what angle Cavill’s next pirouette will look as delicious as possible. And in general, the operator does not hesitate to take the most advantageous position for the character and play with the staging.
The graphics are quite decent. A mini-series is rarely required to be authentic and expensive, but it’s very nice that they can show it.
Fight scenes
Let’s divide them into large-scale and chamber.
Chamber ones look very tasty, you can feel the force of each blow and the weight of each damage.
The series is not afraid to show injuries and blood and squeezes every positive out of the 18 rating+. By the way, this applies to both swearing and naked people. All this goodness on the screen is just right. Enough to feel what you see.
And if we talk about large-scale military clashes… It’s difficult to say whether “The Witcher” really outdid “Game of Thrones” in this regard, as some say, but at least I see these scenes, and I’m not trying to see at least something in the impenetrable darkness.
And in general, you can’t say that The Witcher is encroaching on the laurels of the recently ended series. They will definitely be compared, but it’s like comparing Wild Hunt and Skyrim. This is wrong! They are completely different. And if “Game of Thrones” was more drawn towards realism, showing how harsh everyday life was in the magical Middle Ages, then the White Wolf does not seem to be burdened by its fantasy nature, but simply accepts it as part of itself.
Do I recommend watching the series?? Undoubtedly. Should I accept my conclusions as the ultimate truth?? No, of course – you should watch the series and make your own.
(And how could you miss the best character? Roach, you haven’t left my soul since 2015, but seeing you again is like meeting an old favorite friend. You are like expensive wine over the years, you only get better).
