Looking for a fantasy-TV fix filled
with violence, naughty language and nudity in this post-Game Of
Thrones world we live in? Then Netflix’s The Witcher could
be up your alley… if your curb your expectations slightly.
In the world of The Witcher,
certain humans (or ‘mutants’ as they are commonly referred to)
have various magical abilities. Mutant’s are not necessarily
accepted by society, unless they’re required to perform tasks that
normal humans aren’t capable of. One of those tasks being killing
big-ass monsters.
This is where The Witcher opens; with our protagonist, Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), battling one of the many creatures we see throughout the show in gloomy swamp. Right from Geralt’s first line after defeating this creature, the tone of the show is set. It’s dark, brooding and at times, oddly humorous!
Cavill is definitely a stand out. Not
only does he physically embody the bulked-up Geralt (see: the sword
battle at the end of episode 1!), but Cavill also plays against type
compared to what we’ve seen him do before. It’s funny watching
the Man of Steel react to the plethora of weird magical mishaps with
a casual: “Oh, fu*k”! And that makes his character easy to be
drawn too, because more often than not, you have the same sentiments.
However, it is Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) who had the majority of my interest in these first few episodes. There is definitely an interesting story arc happening here that I am not sure where its going (but in a good way!). I won’t say too much about it because I think the reveals throughout for this character are definitely worth waiting for!
In saying this,
the rest of the story lines in The Witcher are… completely
fine. Each episode jumps from plot to plot, adventure to adventure
and at times the show feels a bit convoluted. The action and
adventures can be very exciting to watch and there is a main story
established in the first episode, but for the episodes following,
that plot seemed to take a slight back seat while the series really
builds up the world for you.
Don’t get me wrong, some of the world
building is incredible and it is quite obvious there is a lot of lore
to draw from for the seasons to come. But, when you’re introduced
to seemingly important characters every episode, only to have them
not return again, you can feel a little lost in what the show is
trying to tell you to follow.
Let’s briefly touch on CGI. For a show with a rumoured budget of $10 million USD per episode, the effects and some of the sets felt cheap. It really looked and felt like I was watching a TV show, and not being immersed into the world. At times, the CGI really surprised me with its quality, but those moments felt few and far between. The shows opening scene sets the bar for the CGI to come, so at least The Witcher braces you for impact early on.
Season 1 of The Witcher feels like the foundations for something bigger to come, but sometimes at the cost of not making the foundations interesting enough to keep you completely invested for your introductory episodes. However, with saving-grace performances from Cavill and Chalotra and a few exciting action set-pieces, I’m still intrigued enough to see where The Witcher will take me next.
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Nick is a Brisbane-based film/TV reviewer. He gained his following starting with his 60 second video reviews of all the latest releases on Instagram (@nicksflicksfix), before launching a monthly podcast with Peter Gray called Monthly Movie Marathon. Nick contributes to Novastream with interviews and reviews for the latest blockbusters.