The Witcher

Netflix hits the bull's eye again, providing an ointment against pangs of longing for Game of Thrones. I know Sapkowski’s original only from hearsay and I was saving it (for later), but it’s great fun like everyone promised. Swords and magic in all shapes and sizes (if only someone could film a good Conan at last) and with the perfect cast. Cavill plays a hardass mountain of a guy, roaring and muttering (I have been given an assignment to look like him, so beware of the side effects if you watch this with your better half), enjoying himself thoroughly. I did find it a bit hard to decide when the action was taking place (while I managed season 2 of Westworld with no problem), but in the end everything fell into place. The series finale gives you an appetite for more stories like this, so lay them on us. (27/12/2019)

A lot weaker than the first season. The first episode is great, but then it all starts going downhill. Political intrigue, sudden changes of direction, some unimportant people discussing the war and I fell asleep. Geralt and Ciri are super. Well-acted characters. The rest are a bit boring, as a rule. The dialogs are very stiff, dumbly pointing out things that would have been obvious with a better screenplay. The action is fine, but there is too little of it. The production design is great and the monsters intriguing. I am reading the book and it seems the creators aren’t being faithful to it; maybe next season. Just look at what happened to Game of Thrones when the creators began improvising. (22/12/2021)

Big bad. When Cavil isn't chopping monsters to pieces, it's either terribly confusing or boring, often both. I haven't read the source material, but blathering on and on about how important Ciri is and how she's going to change everything can't be enough of a carrying theme for the books, the talk of family is getting worse than in Fast and Furious. The acting isn't really great either, and apart from the main grouch, it's awful, though maybe that's down to the crappy dialogue. Considering how much potential has been drowned in uninteresting political lines after the first season, I'm almost sorry The Witcher wasn’t picked by HBO. Henry Cavil is leaving and I think I'll wrap it up with him. (30/07/2023)