Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf / Billy Summers - REVIEW
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- Опубліковано 28 лип 2024
- My thoughts on Netflix's latest #Witcher show and Stephen King's latest release: Billy Summers.
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00:00 Witcher Nightmare of the Wolf
08:22 Billy Summers
Sorry for the haggard reviews. Not my best work. Just sick :/
No worries, make sure to take care of your health.
haggard is my uncle lol
Feel better soon!!
Covid?
I hope you feel better! Do what you need to do, including letting your work be what it's gonna be when you're sickly and down.
Perfectionism can be a bitch. It'll add to those 99 other problems.
Sending fuzzy blanket, hot-coco, and desolated Funko-Pop vibes your way.
ah yes the withcer, my favorite polish fantasy series
edit: daniel please don't change the video title it'll make me look like a fool
edit 2: i guess i am indeed the fool
Lol
What was the origional?
@@bradeye1133 I guess it has "withcer" in it.
Don't worry I saw it too. I am your proof!
not in my eyes, przyjacielu
i'd love to hear your opinions of Netflix's Castlevania seasons.
Seasons 1 and 2 were great. Season 3 was good in a "setup for something bigger" kind of way. Season 4 just failed to deliver any kind of coherent storytelling, but the fights were cool and Berserk homage was dope. Ending was messy. Overall a 7/10.
I know nobody ask but what are comment sections for anyway?
that's.. why i'm here
@@nenadmilovanovic5271 to piss people off and start a fight because someone has a different opinion?😂
@@nenadmilovanovic5271 Ending was surprising for me, Castlevania has a very dark tone overall but it ended up with happy endings for almost everyone. 🤣
@@nenadmilovanovic5271 Well dont forget, the story IS continuing, and they had to end the show in a good way (considering that sooo much shite the characters has been through) and they need a break XD. Cant wait for the new castlevania show to come out though 9/10 for me
The Withcer is probably one of my favorite up and coming series. The naming really reminds me of the Witcher, so I hope we get some of that influence!
What are you talking about?
@@AlanDantes76 a mistake that used to be in the title ^^
(New to witcher) If I am being completely honest , the movie is not without its flaws but it gave me more enjoyment/satisfaction and better introduction to witcher world with the monsters, mages & MAGIC in 90 mins than the 8 hours long show. It had awesome animation but the art style could have been better. 😄
Now what if I told you pretty much everything represented in this adaptation is not at all how it is conveyed in any other adaptation, nor the source books?
@@ToastierHat that was my biggest problem with this movie, Vesemier just casually Ignied the entire lake while Geralt in the books barely even uses signs, that was much even compared to how signs are represented in videogames. Also, it felt like they nerfed mages too much, iirc aren't they supposed to be super OP?
@@andrijarazum9796 yeah, signs are scoffed at by mages as "a hack's attempt at magic" and aard is effectively the same as physically shoving someone, if that. They are to spellcasting what a throwing knife is to a bullet fired from a gun. Igniting a whole lake is just... Completely misrepresenting the lore and witchers. Why have witchers use swords at all if they are just reskinned mages? Why have mages if witchers have stronger magic? It doesn't really make sense. Add to that the massive timeline inconsistencies, the changes to the fall of Kaer Morhen from a slow and steady decline to "destroyed by monsters, peasants and mages teaming up". Just too many things that don't at all make sense. I'd have to watch it again to expand the list but I'd rather use my time better than that
@@ToastierHat now I haven't seen the movie, but Kaer Morhen was destroyed by an angry mob with help of wizards (it's in the blood of elves)
@@loczek1965 note I specifically said monsters, peasants and mages teaming up.
Well I loved the film a lot. A lot, if not all of it, was just hitting the right beats for me. Runtime was a little too short for me but really that’s all. I remained tethered to the film and the world it established from the get go.
Agree. Was watching it in the middle of the night and it was a very well worth while watch. Definitly one of my favorites from netflix.
Yeah I'm halfway through playing the 3rd game and I really enjoyed it. Vesemir is such a badass as well
Withcer ? Really, Goblin ???
Dyslexia strikes again
Witchers never unleashed monsters on the populace in the original lore, Dan. One of the theories is that the pogrom was incited by mages who wanted their mutagenic secrets, never is it implied that witchers created monsters...
Yeah, the most dubious thing (aside from the whole child soldier element of the entire occupation) I recall is that some Witchers were starting to rent themselves out as assassins or mercenaries, and the other Witchers thought that was dangerous for everyone (because it put too many eyes on the Witchers and made them a political entity, and because it increased people's fear of them), but I think even that is actually from a comic adaptation (the whole Cat school thing, no?). I have no recollection at all of the Witchers releasing monsters thing. I don't even think they would have had the capability of that considering how limited their magic is meant to be. Maybe the mages who helped them with the trials and mutagens but I'm not sure about that.
Man, I really loved Billy Summers. I loved all the relationships Billy formed with everyone especially since they all knew him as a different person. And that dynamic with Alice was just like crack, I couldn't put the book down. But, yeah if you don't vibe with the characters I could definitely see how you wouldn't love the book.
Right there with ya! I enjoyed up till the introduction of Alice...then I couldn't [stop listening to it]! I loved the small The Shining sprinkles we got too!
I was iffy on Billy Summers in the first half because it felt a bit slow but I felt it really picked up with Alice! Something about their bond stuck with me.
I didn't even notice he killed the mages, I thought it was just his old girlfriend 😬
They literally make a close up the the head of the mage when Vesimir cuts it.
@@gurentgc3546 oooh, I thought it was the woman 😂😂 which made me more confused because then I saw her alive
@@alexandershaw2341 it was an illusion. That was also showed.
@@gurentgc3546 I saw the illusion fade but saw the white hair and for some reason thought it was the woman he knew as a kid.
@@stefvanroey8191 I really don't understand how, but ok I guess.
On the Witcher: I had no issue with the animation. It was not bad.
I did however, had issues with the shown magic powers and some story elements.
Was it that magic seems way amped up from how it works in the show? Cause I felt that.
Like, we see a fireball is so draining it kills each mage who does it but this sorceress who seems relatively unimportant power scale wise can just bring mountains down on tip of people.
@@charliecoke7396 From what I remember she's a decendant of the first mage ever lived, so I think it kinda pulls from that. Also, she's one if not the main reason for the Assault of Kaer Morhen and that makes her significant enough.
@Charlie Coke Vesemir's Igni felt stronger than it should be (Note: I haven't played the games. So maybe they got inspiration from there). And yes Tetra showed barely any fatigue from the spells she used, which is weird. Even a really powerful mage/witch feels a bit tired after that many big *and* that many spells in a short time period.
+ She casted them pretty quick
@@charliecoke7396 that was a mistake on the live action's part tho. We see Yennefer nuke people with a large scale spell and at the same time we see pathetic fireballs that are easily deflectable even though they use a person's entire existence to create.
The animation is one of the strong points of the movie imo. Impact frames, timing, backgrounds, etc. it was quite good. Not Akira, true, but good nonetheless. The scene with the coins was jarring; might be intentional with it being a vision but not the best choice there.
Lore inconsistencies and a rather banal story was far more detrimental overall I thought.
You nail it with the other aspects though and it really is an eh movie overall.
Isn't the netflix canon different from that of the games and that of the books? Or are you meaning the inconsistencies go beyond that?
@@whitelion124 Sorry to butt in, but they're changing the entire world to get a few ok moments. It might as well be a new ip if they keep going down this path.
@@whitelion124 I mean, how do we determine a separate canon anyway? Do the showrunners use that as a fall back to cover any inconsistency? But then go on to adapt and reference the books (which they are doing). Though, I will grant this movie some slack in that regard since it comes from vague beginnings.
Regardless, I've yet to see anybody saying it's a separate canon from up top. Think that's just how fans rationalize things being different/adapted poorly and the fact that it doesn't come from Sapkowski's hand itself. The latter point, of course, is pretty much true for every adaptation with how many people are involved in grand productions like movie/tv adaptations.
@@KokuouBenso I feel like years of consuming japanese media (anime, manga, live actions, light novels) really armed me with the mindset of "every derivative of the original is an alternative universe version regardless of how close it follows the source" which allows me now to take in stride The Witcher adaptations like this movie
"Lore inconsistencies and a rather banal story" really hits the nail on the head. If it had just steered clear of trying to tie itself into all the other witcher lore they could have just about done anything and it would have been better. Shit on established lore and my enjoyment plummets.
Spoilers for Withcer
Daniel you say that we’d know the revelation about the witchers if we knew the lore, but isn’t the mutant twist something that’s new to this film. In the books and the games, Kaer Morhen is attacked by a mob out of fear and hate of the unknown, not because the witchers were creating mutant creatures.
Huh I thought i remembered this being established lore. I swear I heard this before somewhere.
As far as I know you're right. I really don't like the changes Netflix made creatively to this film.
@@DanielGreeneReviews it was an interesting change, but I think I prefer the original reasoning more. More fitting for the themes of humans being monsters and all that. And seeing a group of humans fighting alongside a monsters because they’re afraid of the monsters the witchers created seems… dumb….
@@DanielGreeneReviews there was a sub plot in season of storms, where some mages are engineering monsters
I don’t remember it being part of the lore at least not for kaer morhen Witcher’s. It’s definitely a thing that mages have created monsters but in the lore the castle was sacked due to fear and ignorance caused by anti Witcher propaganda. I do think that it’s an interesting way to show that Witcher’s aren’t that great but I do think that this change takes away from some of the ideas in the books about the way humans treat anyone with differences. Although the way vesemir and the other Witcher’s treat people would of been a good enough way to show the audience the negative aspects of Witcher’s.
The sound effect reviews are a big part of why I follow your channel, Daniel. Don't you ever stop.
For me I really enjoyed the animation and its style for sure. My biggest gripe would have to be the sacking scene. Didn't really like how, for a lack of a better term, exaggerated it was. Though I did let it roll due to the nature of its medium. But none the less, im happy it exists. Feel like this will introduce people into the witcher series, who are not too much a fan of live action.
I still haven’t seen anyone mention the fact that Vesemir doesn’t meet Visenna and get Geralt from her. Some random dude brings him to Kaer Morhen. AND no one is mentioning the “something more” comment from Degland.
You're right. I think many people were more focused on the fact that Geralt doesn't even go through the extra trials he went through in the books and games. And the random baldness. That and the whole let's change the whole reason why the sacking happened. And uuugh that one death earlier on in the movie. They should have let that character die later on in the movie if they had to kill him.
I was thinking about this, it’s possible that Geralt has already been in Kaer Morhen since the previous winter since Witcher training definitely takes more than a year. I don’t know if he was supposed to be the kid that tries to fight Vesemir earlier on in the movie, but if not I suppose it could still make sense
@@wodaman8365 that was Eskel that attacks Vesemir earlier on. I've heard others say that Geralt is the other kid in the scene that Vesemir attacks.
@@dragonwings36 that’s really interesting, I didn’t realise. There’s a possibility that some of the recruits were gathered in one place so that it would only cost one carriage to transport them? I’m not sure
@@wodaman8365 true. They could have had more carriages before the one we saw?
I actually really enjoyed it, I get some of your points, but I just feel they weren't as bad for me as for you, didn't bother me that much so I enjoyed the movie and had a good time.
Agree.
Maybe I need to watch the full thing but I loved the way the animation looked this is why beauty is in the eye of the beholder
My biggest issue with the anime is that they completely changed how the battle at Kaer Morhen and the wiping out of the School of the Wolf witchers went. It made me realize that I should give up on any hope of the Netflix adaptation staying faithful to the actual lore of the books. They’re obviously just doing their own thing with the adaptation and when I see it as that, it’s fine. It’s a fine anime movie as its own thing. But I agree, if you’re a fan of the books and want a faithful, or mostly faithful, adaptation you’re probably not going to appreciate it. The battle at Kaer Morhen in the anime also felt like a copy of the battle in Castlevania, season 4, but not as epic as the one in Castlevania.
True. They changed so much to have more action and drama. Sapkowski did not like the games because they changed to much, i bet he will hate the movie 😅
This. The whole witchers creating monsters plothread changes everything. The whole point in the witcher books is discrimination and xenophobia in it's many forms. Alot of people hate witchers even though they dont really know much about them, simply cause theyre different.
In this, though, people are completely justified in hating witchers. It hardly seems like being different even factors into the story. The story would not have been any different if the witchers were just another human faction.
Why?
@@thorleif8872 Sapkowski didn't dislike the games. He didn't care about them all at, because he doesn't care about games at all. He even said he doesn't know the plot.
As someone who has consumed a ton of animation, the animation wasn't bad but it wasn't anything special, the lady mage scenes were actually really good. It's not Akira quality, even high budget passion projects with skilled staff for modern day anime movies don't have same quality as Akira so I think it's a bit of an unfair comparison. Also a lot of people tend to not know the difference between art style and animation. In terms of art style it was a mix of Castlevania meets The Last Airbender which seems unfitting to the Witcher world, if that's what you mean by flat/static. As for the animation I could only really nitpick about a few minor things one of which is the coin scene but it didn't bother me as I attributed the weirdness of it to it being a dream
This movie heavily uses flashbacks for storytelling. It's almost 50% flashback 50% core plot. I feel like it is never good to be stuck in the past throughout almost half of your film. Unless time travel is in play of course. That being said, the animation is top tier for most of the film minus some awkward 3d creatures. The examples Daniel showed of the bit when he cracks the ice with fire is actually really well done. It looked awesome. The coin bit Daniel talked about was not great. They tried to mix 3d coins with a 2d face and it did not work.
I am of the 50% who stands with you on the Geralt reveal 🙌🏾 I saw the kid & was like, "DON'T tell me that's Geralt. That better not be Geralt." & then that scene happened 🙃...
I know who Vesemir is, I knew Geralt would be in that group of newbie recruits, but he looked like a knockoff Aang from Avatar, it just wasn't Geralt for me & the way that scene played out was cringe.
I was in the right mood to enjoy Billy Summers. I really needed something meandering and well written and this was wonderful.
Billy summers is definitely on my tbr can't wait to read it after I finish reading needful things and firestarter I hope I will enjoy the book 🤠🤗😊
When mentioning animation I think it'd be better to use artstyle instead for future reviews like this. Animation is more the character motion which was mostly done really well here versus artstyle which would encompass framing, color, etc. Otherwise it's a pretty accurate review.
The sorceress making the avalanche was visually stunning, the backgrounds were incredible, and some of the fights were really well done. But yeah the story was hit or miss I think and the pogrom was a little weird.
Ahh glad to see someones taking notice of withcer!
Interesting. I don't share some of your criticism about the story bits or animations, but still interesting to hear your review. Also hope you feel better now.
Which one would you prefer, Later or Billy Summers?
I feel like the parts in the nightmare of the wolf where the witchers don't react to people getting murdered is supposed to convey that the witchers see death everyday and they can mourn later. The reactions in the flashbacks are much heavier for this reason. I guess you could call it cliché but it's some pretty old source material.
Not to sound too judgy, but-
"I know, [AKIRA] is a bit of an extreme one-"
In the production of AKIRA, they /invented 50 new shades of colors/ for use in the film. "A bit of an extreme comparison" is 100% an understatement, no matter how flat/undynamic the animation being criticized is
Hey from Australia.
Thank you for another awesome video. Playing Witcher 3 ATM, and love the show.
Looking forward to watching this after your review.
Agreed, it's just fine. I wasn't necessarily looking for it and when it was on I didn't get fully engaged with it. Don't think this story was as fitting or unique for Vesemir as I think was needed to be told. A little underwhelming but as you said, a good background watch.
I just have to say, its really amazing how many people on this section have voiced out their opinions in such a graceful and respectful manner, even if most of the comments I've read don't agree 100% with Daniel's thoughts on TW, NotW. Its just so nice to be a part of an online community that is actually able to have an open and healthy debate, and not just straight up insult and dislike. I guess what I mean to say is... thanks to all of us goblins for being awesome!! :D
When it comes to lore inconsistencies and the overall plot I agree on it being weak but animation wise I didn’t quite agree. I don’t personally like the studio mir art style( they did this film, legend of Korra and voltron) but the animation itself looked very fluid especially in the fight scenes.
Agreed. Animation in fights was good, as someone who has watched tons of anime this was far from being terrible animation.
ahhh I really enjoyed Billy Summers quite a bit. I was just very connected with the characters, and how laser focused and personal the story is from the POV of Billy Summers.
I really enjoyed the story too. Out of the 4 SK books,(The Stand and Misery included) this is my favorite so far
i understant what you saying but personally i have no problem with movie it was better than i expected 7/10 no problem with animation it could be better but i had no problem with that as you did (but also i am not that nitpicking when it comes to animation/cgi until it is really bad and this was ok) why 7/10 not higher? because The Witcher has bigger potential but i think this was really good "side quest" it has some useful info for people who are not very familiar with the Witcher universe and for fans it was fan with right Witcher feeling ... speaking as fan of the books and games ...
I would love to see your thoughts on Castlevania. That’s really this studio at its absolute best, much more realized art, characters and narrative.
I enjoyed this movie a good bit, but it’s definitely just a fun popcorn flick.
I feel stephen king just really liked Barry (the TV show) enough to literally use (copy?) the exact same general storyline.
Does anyone know how does the budget of this Witcher anime compare to the anime that Daniel was talking about around 3:50 (Akira?)?
I am still going to watch this series just because its "The Witcher" :)
Firstly money doesn't animate, animators do. You can get incredible projects with a standard budget and terrible ones with a ton of budget. So budget isn't a very accurate indicator of quality.
I'm really not sure why, but I really love that shirt that Daniel is wearing. It gave me warm fuzzies.
Let’s go! Another duel review!!
Can somebody help me understand the ending of Billy Summers? My question is a spoiler so if you haven't read it then don't read the rest of this, but so the last thing Alice does is put the novel Billy was reading on his grave, and says that she now understands who he was talking about. I'm confused about what she is meaning. I'm probably forgetting something earlier. Thanks!
I hear mix reviews of Billy Summers I haven't read it but I plan too thanks for your review
I’m really digging Daniel’s arm tattoo of the One ring (I assume) I wish I had that idea first DAMN IT
The one on his right wrist? If so that's not a One Ring tattoo it's an allomantic symbol from the mistborn series.
@@MrSmithers waaaat Lol I’m fairly new to fantasy so lotr is what easily comes to mind when I’m presented with symbols
@@Edselsmellswell nah it's all g mate just figured I'd let you know what it really was since you commented on it, side note, you should absolutely read mistborn, it's very good.
Yes, the tattoo on his arm are words of the one ring. The tattoo on the wrist is from the mist born series.
@@MrSmithers I’m reading way of kings right now like 400 pages in cuz Daniel hyped it so 🤞🏼
My expectation for this kind of animated spinoffs from live actions shows is usually really low because they are usually really bad, but this one blew my expectations and I freaking loved it. I agree with your points but they didn't bother me as much as you and most of the could've been fixed making the movie longer. The only point I don't agree with is the animation. I thought Studio Mir did a fantastic job and it was some of their best work so far, and comparing the animation of an anime like Akira that is outstanding even for Japanese standards with one from a Korean studio really is not that fair. Making an animation like Akira would require really insanely talented people, which are abundant in Japan, and an insanely high budget, which works in Japan because people there actually go to the theater to see anime movies.
Overall great review. I had been waiting for this one.
Interesting review. It's not perfect, but I liked this little animated movie more than the entire first season of The Witcher.
Did you just take two of the best scenes in one of the most well regarded pieces of animation ever and compare them to some of the least important scenes in this movie (and the prelude to the lake shot)?
I think the reason they ignored the mages dying is because this is the story of the destruction of Kaer Morhen so most of the audience is watching to see how that happened, their deaths were a foregone conclusion. For the conflict as a whole I agree they didn't do this well but even here the whole point of the story was that successive groups of monster fighters were creating monsters to fight monsters that they later use as monsters to maintain social status or wealth. Like idk how you can side with the witch or the humans in general here after the school full of elven children and the constant references to pogroms against outsiders.
I really liked Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, and I'm sad you didn't, but you made good points. I really thought the animation was smooth and carried the action well from beat to beat. While I do agree the characters weren't necessarily very interesting, I think the focus was more on causes than individuals, and the narrative at least got us into the heads of the characters so thoroughly that you understood why they were doing what they did.
I'm not the biggest Witcher fan (I own all three games and have played less than two hours across them all, and I watched the Netflix show for like five or six episodes and just stopped because it didn't grab me) so I was rather surprised when I enjoyed this movie. Perhaps I just don't like Geralt - a non-controversial opinion, I'm sure - but the movie was a refreshing change of pace for my experience with the franchise.
I have no opinions of the Stephen King book; I have read almost nothing by King.
Dang, I really thought it was great for the most part. Have you seen the Castlevania show on Netflix? It has the same style of dialogue. I like the more down-to-Earth style they went with for the setting. It's different from a lot of other animated series (including most anime), but I really like that the characters aren't overenthusiastic. I think it matches the setting better.
I honestly thought the animation was a strong point, except for a few rough spots.
The main thing I was leary of were some of the liberties taken with more bombastic battle scenes with ridiculous displays of magic. I felt the power displays were a bit much and almost out of place at times. The witcher series is very, very down-to-Earth and gritty. However some crazy chaos possession stuff does happen in the books, so I can deal with this portrayal.
I feel if they did an animated Witcher adaptation but with studio Mappa it would be one of the best series of all time.
Mappa animators won't be seeing their family for a year if they adapted The whole Witcher series
Sometimes Daniel is so hard on things that I would like to know how he would score his own book.
I really enjoyed the movie, and didn't have any issues with the animation. I'm surprised it caused such a reaction from you.
I was just wondering if you read Billy Summers. Thanks, UA-cam recommendations.
Really hope the second season ups the ante. Like, the first season was by no means terrible, but I'd still give it a five out of ten in terms of the rushed job and poor characterization/worldbuilding in places. Maybe, now that they aren't trying to piece together a collection of short stories and are actually adapting full books, we'll get a better show (a reverse GOT, perhaps)
hello im currently reding billy summers. the first few chapters were a drag. and now im on chapter 16 currenlty and im enjoying it. but one thing keeps besetting my mind. i get the point that billy disappears like"houdini" after his every contract kills. what i dint like was why was he put in a disguise for so long and making it' obvious' to everryone that he ws the shooter. and why did he diguise himself as colin white while escaping the building after the shot, after-all the tenants do know where the shot came from, so why the trouble? i thought it was bit far fetched, or i maybe wrong but why not make it a succinct one without raising ay flags or attention . could anyone please explain it to me without spoiling anything further. 😂sorry fro my english. thank you.
Totally agree on your Billy Summers review. I was preparing myself to like it due to the glowing reviews but came out really underwhelmed after reading it. Generic is an adjective I'd give it.
Hope you feel better soon!
Well the movie was WELL received among the witcher fan. Maybe we are biased but This movie was amazing, as a witcher fan It's hard to find this movie bad. And for the animation come on it's subjective, I watched a LOT of anime and I can garantie you the animation is not bad at all.
As a book fan I must say I don’t get what people like about the film at all.
@@DanierCZ I don't know maybe the story, the visuals , the animation , the characters, the fights scene, the music, the emotion, the pacing, ...
@@donrog5035 Well I personally would somehow have to disagree on all those accounts. Making the sacking of Kaer Morhen justified also drastically changes the theme from the books where it was really just the work of hateful fanatics. Sure it was more GoT-like morally grey but it was going against Sapkowski’s theme of prejudice and ignorance playing a huge part in how world works.
However there were aspects which I liked, but as a whole I don’t get its popularity. To each their own I guess.
@@donrog5035 OK, let´s see: the story - OK, the visuals - OK, the animation - not a big fan of, but OK, the characters - rather weak, the fight scenes - OK, but sometimes overpowered, the music - weak & irritating, the emotion - barely existing, the pacing - rushed. As overall result I must say NotW is average. Saying this as an old witcher fan with 35 years of experience, I can only assume, that I am just too old for this stuff. I liked "Ghost in the shell" on the other side, so... maybe this movie isn´t THAT good indeed?
@@DanierCZWell the witcher community was already hated, they just wanted a justification. Beside it wasn’t all the witcher who was onboard with the idea to create new monsters. It was mostly Deaclan work but just for that guy’s doings they massacred all the witcher. So the message is still the same.
I love seeing these reviews that are brutally honest about a mediocre reading experience--thanks, Daniel! nothing to be sorry about with these
Loved the Withcer review
Daniel, I think you would enjoy the Castlevania show on Netflix. The fighting is amazing, and the characters are really fleshed out. I think you would also really enjoy Dracula. Food for thought.
I also don't care about former soldiers turned killers either, but Billy Summers had me hooked. The suspense, relationships, and dread of something will go wrong were classic King in all the best ways.
Feel better soon!
He name drops Eskel and Lambert, but I remember them being the same age as Geralt or younger. Just a personal mini-gripe. Also did that sorceress look like Ludmilla to anyone else? from Castlevania?
By the way is this supposed to be based on a canon story? Coz I thought Geralt went through his Trial before the fall of Kaer Morhen
not cannon at all they change alot of the established lore. Eskel is the same age as Geralt, theyre childhood friends that trained at the same time. Lambert is years younger than both of them. and when the attack on Kaer Morhen happened they were already on the path
I liked it! Don’t know what you’re talking about!
Ah yes the Withcer! Geralts Brother in Asgard land of Fae.
I really liked the Witcher movie 🤩
I'm not super familiar with the franchise, but this movie really peaked my interest in the series.
Good books, not so great Netflix series.
Good video games too if you like to play them
@@ariesvalliant760 my plan is to read the books first and then play the games, because I believe that the games happen after the books, right?
@@magnus5747 for the most part I think so yeah
@@ariesvalliant760 yeah, specially the third one. But those games are like a fan fiction. Everything happens after the books.
I just finished Billy Summers and I’m not sure what twist you’re talking about.
I've found my favorite King novels typically have very memorable characters. He usually has a great way to get me to like even the most minor background character like Victor Criss from IT or Clay Reynolds from Wizard and Glass. So hearing his characters in Billy Summers were meh is disappointing. Im sure ill still get around to reading it though. :)
The voice acting in Nightmare of the Wolf really bothered me. It was the same problem in a lot of Castlevania as well; A lot of the actors are practically whisper-mumbling their lines like they were afraid to put volume into their delivery or commit to a line. Not that it was hard to hear them necessarily but it just lacked.. impact for lack of a better word.. to the line deliveries like they were afraid the neighbors above the studio would complain if they spoke too louod. It's the polar opposite problem anime like Demon Slayer or Hero Academia have with their characters being unnecessarily obnoxiously loud and scream-crying most of their lines like ADHD toddlers on amphetamines. Not sure why it's so hard to just get normal conversations between characters.
And yeah Vesimir's love interest's line deliveries were really, really weak. I didn't even realize that was McDonnell, makes me think it was a direction issue with whoever oversaw the VA.
Maybe they are going for a more "grounded" direction with voice acting, and it is not working. Castlevania is really bad too.
I dunno, just looking at trailers and stuff, I think the animation looks fine.
Oof, that was quite harsh on the animation, which I thought was largely fine. Executives needed to give this about 10% more budget or time in production to help out the weaker aspects, but overall I enjoyed the film and would give it a 6-7 out of 10.
Favorite part: the background music you picked while comparing the animation quality, lol! (And there are more recent high bars since Akira).
What would you say has better animation than Akira? Even if i dont agree with your opinion, I would like to get some nice recs lol.
@@anishsawan6496 lol, I’m happy to make some recommendations, although there’s a lot of stylistic variety depending on personal preferences. Aside from the obvious Studio Ghibli and Pixar, the stop motion style of Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr Fox, Aardman (Wallace & Gromit), or Anomalisa; anime style like Paprika, there’s also Persepolis, the depressing yet amazing Waltz With Bashir, just to name a few of the more widely released animated movies. The Rolling Stone has a pretty good list of top animation-you can’t say it’s a good list if it doesn’t include Akira and Spirited Away. 😁
@@christinamanucy8037 I would also suggest La Casa Lobo if you are into surreal, Chilean stop motion horror animation.
@@anishsawan6496 reminiscent of the Brothers Quay
@@christinamanucy8037 i havent seen enough (or any brothers quay) short to compare but now i think i will
I'd love to hear your opinion on the movie the lord of the elves.
what I couldn't understand was the scale. The final battle was just a bunch of dudes, fighting dudes and in between, there were monsters. Whereas in a series like Castlevania, you get two massive (like the whole population of two cities) fighting each other. This was a movie and its budget felt smaller than a single episode of Castlevania.
Please tell me where in the lore it states the witchers at kaer morhen were in the wrong or actually did anything they were accused of? The impression I always got from the book was that it was a mob stirred up by false allegations not true ones.
Bit disappointed you didn't like billy summers but we can't always agree with the majority. Your opinion at the end of the day. Still going to get it for my collection.
Take it easy man, I watched that Witcher film yesterday and I fully agree. It’s a good baseline and cool setting but he animation was weak and the dialogue felt abit lacking at times. I don’t LOVE Castlevania like everyone but one thing about is I LOVE is the dialogue it’s very realistic and witty
lol that typo nearly broke my brain! 🤣 I stumbled trying to read it.
I’m ok with you comparing a 2021 tv animation to a 1988 movie. You explain it fine
i loved this! just finished it last night!
So I liked the new Witcher movie but respect Daniels opinion of it. Like I do think the biggest pull is as a story, but do think there should have been a bit more talk and framing for the witches. like clarification of magic and lore stuff so I get how as as single piece you can rank it like that. Also liked the review and even your most average videos have been good and enjoyable content
I think with anime comparing/critizising animations is kinda impossible, especially comparing it to other projects. I think what can be judged is if the grafical style in itself is consistent and it is. Different studios usually have different styles and approaches and this studio has its own constistent style, compare it to Castlevania for example, same style.
It feels a little bit like critiquing why Sin City doesnt look like Lotr.
as soon as I saw the trailer, I was worried. at the end we see them using signs…but they just point and shoot. that’s not how it works in the games OR the books, they have to be drawn in the air
On the contrary, when a reviewer has a negative opinion on a piece of art, that is the most interesting conversations to have. When everyone agrees it's just an echo chamber of gushing positive sentiment, which does have it's place, but an honest debate on the merits are enjoyable too.
Overall I enjoyed the witcher movie and liked how it added to the world building and answered questions people might have had from the first season, esp before s2. The soundtrack was probably my favourite part. I thought the animation was okay, ut tbh jw asnt expecting much from Netflix 😅 I definitely wish they would do better though, especially if they're calling this set of animated movies "anime", it definitely sucks that their animation and art style don't live up to actual anime. Story wise I had a few issues, esp towards the end similar to what you mentioned and definitely agree on the voice acting. For me it was the voice acting of young Vesemir who I couldn't stand and definitely took me out of the story. All in all I wish they did better and there's a lot to improve on, but still enjoyed it for what it was
i thought it was pretty good, but i have not read the books so i cant really compare
Ah yes withcer
It was... it was fine. It wasn't a mess, it wasn't great.
Also 100% on board with comparing it to what is out there, even if it is too good to feel fair.
Saying it is good, but being oke with whatever... well that helps noone.
THANK YOU!! Billy Summers was such a painful ‘eh’ for me. And I’m so tired of people saying how great it is
Withcer? Daniel has officially lost it (... or his auto correct).
Would like a follow up with Geralt as a teenager learning under Ves
I enjoyed Billy summers, loved the slow pace
Withcer? Oh Daniel... I understand. But oh Daniel...
Never been so early before… Nice.
Have you watched pacific rim the black?
I challenge you to review every single season of Pokémon without fainting.
That's a lot of seasons
@@astraestus8828 thatz the joke
I am super confused about the lore of this movie. I agree it was very entertaining and enjoyable, but the Witcher’s personalities threw me off so badly. I was under the impression. That the trial of the grasses would strip the Witcher’s of most of their emotions by becoming mutant. That’s what made Geralt so interesting, was that we would see glimpses into his “personality” even though he’s supposed to be a stone cold monster killer. Vesemir came across as Flynn from the tangled movie. Arrogant, adventure seeking, large personality, etc. But the books/show depict the Witcher’s as much more stoic.
Idk, could just be a piece of lore I’m missing here.
Thanks for the review Daniel!!!
the lore in this movie is way off the actual canon. but in regards to the emotions of witchers that was just a myth perpetuated by them to make themselves seem deadlier. It's stated multiple times in the books that their emotions are pretty much like everyone else's.( if a witcher seems without emotion it's more so that they have simply seen alot, and very little fazes them at this point)
@@jasonzaragoza9413 thank you so much! This makes much more sense.
Vesemir was so off from what we know from the books and games that I couldn’t keep watching, his dialogue was so cheesy. Like Flynn as u say
I liked it I haven't read the books or seen the Netflix series but I have played Witcher 3. Animation is cool and all idk why geralt is bald tho trial I guess. Pretty funny when they said he was the first one trying to escape.