Genre: Fantasy/ Drama/ Adventure/ Action
Number of episodes: 8
Year: 2019
Starring: Henry Cavill, Freye Allan, Anya Chalotra, Mimi Ndiweni, Eamon Farren, MyAnna Buring, Lars Mikkelsen, Adam Levy, Anna Shaffer, Johdi May
Description: Geralt of Rivia (Herny Cavill), a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts.
Review: The abundance of superhero films in recent years easily makes one forget how fantasy has broken through to the general public this century. That triumphal march began in 2001 with Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, followed by the epic TV show "Game of Thrones" in 2011.
Large-scale fantasy, with its monsters and battles, is one of the areas in which online video services fight each other. Amazon is making an extremely expensive series of "Lord of the Rings" that must be completed in 2021; HBO is working on "Game of Thrones" spin-offs. And since of December 2019 Netflix has "The Witcher", based on the work of the Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski.
The story takes place on the Continent, a place of doom modelled after medieval Europe. Through a cataclysmic event, the Conjunction of the Spheres, people are stranded in the same world together with elves, monsters and other creatures from different dimensions. Those who are not naturally at the top of the food chain must try to survive with brute force.
British actor Henry Cavill plays Rivia's 'witcher' Geralt. He belongs to a caste of monster hunters who have undergone magical mutations to better cope with the creatures they hunt in return for payment. Most people distrust witchers and at best see them as a necessary evil for when their children are eaten. Geralt lives in the margins, and prefers to growl or communicate with his sword.
With a jawline on which swords can be forged, Cavill seems to have been born for all the physical aspects of his role. The choreography of sword fights is beautiful and the imposing Cavill convinces as a warrior who can fight life and death with monsters. But Cavill's limited range of expressions makes Geralt as a character highly dependent on more expressive opponents.
That comes partly from sorceress Yennefer, played with intensity by Anya Chalotra who compensates for the lukewarm performance of some other actors. As a deformed adopted child, she leads a meagre existence until a sorcerer's guild buys her. They offer beauty and power, but like everything else in this universe, at a price.
The fate of Geralt and Yennefer becomes intertwined with Ciri, a young princess fleeing an army that hunts down her hidden powers. In the harsh Continent full of monsters and villains, she is a beacon of goodness.
Thanks to the books and the games, the series can create a deep world. But unfortunately "The Witcher" doesn't give itself enough time and the viewer experiences what it's like when multiple worlds storm into your dimension.
Within two episodes, an encyclopedia of characters, places and events has already have been introduced and it feels messy. "The Witcher" is now actually less than the sum of his parts. Storylines displace each other while actors - still visibly uncomfortable in the skin of their character - struggle with sometimes cringe-worthy dialogues. The third episode shows what the series is capable of. But overall "The Witcher" all too often resembles a B-series on too big a budget.
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