The Witcher is one of the most popular videogames franchises of recent times, with the Witcher 3 certainly being one of the greatest videogames of the current generation. Thanks to this, I had high expectations for the new Netflix series and I was quite excited to start watching it.
I just finished watching the entire season and the truth is, it wasn't as enjoyable as I was hoping. The series starts with a bang right at the beginning with a cool fighting scene between the Witcher and a monster, but in the end, these cool fight scenes were lacking throughout the entire season. There was not even one really epic fight scene, which is disappointing because in other series like GOT or the new series called See there are several really intense moments. In the Witcher I didn't feel anything close to intensity even though the series tried to induce this feeling.
Another issue I had with this series is that the way the story is told can be a little bit messy because it is not linear. I was told from someone who read the book that this is how it is written but when it comes to following what is happening onscreen in the series, people can get lost and confused.
I need to mention the bard, the guy you see in the pic above. I don't understand why some producers decide to cheapen their movies/series by introducing extremely generic "funny" lines and scenes in stories that could otherwise be more robust and serious. Introducing these comedic situations can break the experience for me, and this happened more than one time while watching the Witcher.
It is possible to have funny moments in epic stories, and the 2 immature hobbits friends of Frodo in the Lord of the Rings (Pippin and Merry) is a great example. In the Witcher, it felt more like if the comedic moments were designed using a sort of manual that tons of other producers use. The bard wasn't adorable like the 2 hobbits, and he was lacking a sense of novelty as well.
All of this doesn't mean the series isn't worth watching, it certainly is especially for fans of the medieval fantasy genre, and even more for fans of the Witcher. In fact, if you have enjoyed The Witcher's videogames or books I think this series is a must-watch.
However, it is fair to say this series has a lot of room for improvement and the hopefully next season gets better.
The best
- Gerald's voice sounds quite good, very similar to the Gerald from the videogame.
- Good scenography and costume designs.
The worst
- The bard ended up being annoying.
- There was too much effort in including funny lines. It disrupted the immersion in the story and sometimes it made it look like a simpleton generic commercial series.
- Not enough fantastic fight scenes.
- Messy storyline
More information: https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/71912-the-witcher Review: AA In numbers: 6/10