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Author Topic: Netflix' The Witcher  (Read 13748 times)

dutchrvl

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Netflix' The Witcher
« on: 02 Jan 2020, 08:07 »

So, I read that The Witcher on Netflix is immensely popular globally, and after watching the first 2 episodes, I am thoroughly confused as to why it is....

My impressions: mediocre production, fairly poor CGI, clunky dialogue, and way too many unknown/unfamiliar terms/words they're introducing making it confusing. Cavill is okay as the lead, although the deeper voice he uses seems to restrict what he can do acting-wise (he's not helped by his dialogue to be fair). Also, but this may just be me, the look and way of talking of characters regularly feels too 'modern' to me.

The overall feel of monster-of-the-week episodes with an overarching plot is fine, and the show doesn't take itself too seriously so that helps as well.

Maybe the show gets better in later episodes?
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LeeC

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Re: Netflix' The Witcher
« Reply #1 on: 02 Jan 2020, 09:37 »

I like it. I really liked episode 3 (Striga!) and 4 (where they reveal the timeline). I have 3 more to go to finish and its just fun. My wife and I have not read the books or played the games but we're really enjoying the story, characters, and humor. Its a bit like a mystery as you figure out how these 3 stories relate and converge with each other.
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TheEvilDog

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Re: Netflix' The Witcher
« Reply #2 on: 02 Jan 2020, 11:30 »

That's the thing, from what I understand, if you've read the books or played the games, you won't like the series. Its a mess, its chaotic.
But if you're coming with only a hint of the material, its decent enough.
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oddtail

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Re: Netflix' The Witcher
« Reply #3 on: 02 Jan 2020, 12:29 »

I like the series. The dialogue is not nearly as good as in the short stories/books, and some things are left out in a way that I find absolutely infuriating.

But when I approach it as its own thing and don't lean on my memory of the source material too much, I find Witcher to be a rather good, if not spectacular, series. And I was a pretty big fan of the books/stories, and I loved the video game series (especially Witcher 3)

(I do recommend the books and especially the short stories to anyone who watches the show and likes it. It's much wittier and funnier in my opinion, and has snappy dialogue. Keep in mind that the books are two decades old by now, short stories are even older, and they're all a product of their time. Plus, I have no idea how good the translation into English is)

EDIT: spoilers for the first episode (and more importantly, the short story it's based on) below to illustrate a point:

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(click to show/hide)

EDIT 2: this is very subjective, but while I was sceptical of the casting of Cavill, I think he pretty much nails Geralt as a character (better than the video game version's actor, either in the Polish version or the English dub). He is the perfect emotionally stunted asshole that book Geralt is, IMO.
« Last Edit: 02 Jan 2020, 12:46 by oddtail »
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Blue Kitty

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Re: Netflix' The Witcher
« Reply #4 on: 02 Jan 2020, 17:47 »

The best thing I've heard about it is that it's similar to the old Hercules and Xena shows, and that makes me want to watch it all the more
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RedWolf4

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Re: Netflix' The Witcher
« Reply #5 on: 02 Jan 2020, 18:33 »

Ehhhhhhhhh . .. . Maybe?

The pacing really threw me for a loop, feel like they could have gone a bit more linear. But overall, I enjoyed it.
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dutchrvl

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Re: Netflix' The Witcher
« Reply #6 on: 03 Jan 2020, 08:29 »

The best thing I've heard about it is that it's similar to the old Hercules and Xena shows, and that makes me want to watch it all the more

Hm, I guess I can see that, now that you've mentioned it. Maybe I should keep watching, since I loved the Hercules/Xena shows.
I wonder if my impression is partially colored by my expectations of it from the start.
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Tova

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Re: Netflix' The Witcher
« Reply #7 on: 03 Jan 2020, 23:00 »

I wonder if my impression is partially colored by my expectations of it from the start.

I'm beginning to suspect this of almost every negative review I read these days WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME  :psyduck:
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cybersmurf

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Re: Netflix' The Witcher
« Reply #8 on: 04 Jan 2020, 03:05 »

The first two episodes are somewhat chaotic.
Also, there's like jumping around in time and it took me way too long to realise.
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sitnspin

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Re: Netflix' The Witcher
« Reply #9 on: 04 Jan 2020, 07:37 »

Yea I found the time skipping to be poorly communicated to the audience, it made it difficult to follow. I'm not sure if that was deliberate on the part of the creators or not, but either way it wasn't well done in my opinion. The mostly silent brooding white boy lead trope isn't something does it for me as a viewer, so I was pretty meh about that. The parts with the young girl whose name I don't remember wasn't particularly engaging for me, either. The bard character was pretty grating and the humor around him fell pretty flat for me.  The Jennifer storyline was good though, I enjoyed that. I would have gladly watched a show just about her.

I have no previous context for the series, I am completely unfamiliar with the work it is based on, so these are my impressions as a relatively neutral viewer.
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LTK

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Re: Netflix' The Witcher
« Reply #10 on: 04 Jan 2020, 09:26 »

What I liked about the books is that Geralt being an antisocial brooding loner is something that's often called out by his friends, who don't take any of his shit and know that he values companionship no matter how much he pretends otherwise. You see a bit of that in the series as well, from Jaskier, but if Milva and Regis appear in future seasons I think that'll start to become more evident.
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cybersmurf

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Re: Netflix' The Witcher
« Reply #11 on: 06 Jan 2020, 15:42 »

I had the feeling that although there is an overarching storyline everything felt somewhat thrown together randomly.
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Aimless

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Re: Netflix' The Witcher
« Reply #12 on: 10 Jan 2020, 11:34 »

Cavill sucks as an actor, and I was incredibly skeptical after the first episode, but the show gets better even though Cavill continues to suck. The Westworld move wasn't executed all that well. The supporting cast is solid. I like the quality of production and the evolving storytelling style. The fight-scenes are surprisingly well-choreographed. The battle scenes are tiresome, as they always are. Looking forward to season 2, which I really didn't expect when I started watching.
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dutchrvl

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Re: Netflix' The Witcher
« Reply #13 on: 10 Jan 2020, 12:07 »

Cavill sucks as an actor, and I was incredibly skeptical after the first episode, but the show gets better even though Cavill continues to suck. The Westworld move wasn't executed all that well. The supporting cast is solid. I like the quality of production and the evolving storytelling style. The fight-scenes are surprisingly well-choreographed. The battle scenes are tiresome, as they always are. Looking forward to season 2, which I really didn't expect when I started watching.

I don't mind Cavill as an actor, although I do think his range is very limited. Given a suitable role he can be quite decent. The man from UNCLE and the Tudors come to mind.
ANyway, all points to "keep watching after episode 2", so I guess I have something to do!
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Re: Netflix' The Witcher
« Reply #14 on: 10 Jan 2020, 13:45 »

Throughout the series, Cavill looked like someone who thought he'd auditioned for a show inexplicably titled "The Itcher".
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LeeC

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Re: Netflix' The Witcher
« Reply #15 on: 02 Jan 2022, 19:54 »

Well I just finished season 2 and I loved it. It picks up right were we left off from season 1 and is just great to watch.
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zmeiat_joro

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Re: Netflix' The Witcher
« Reply #16 on: 06 Mar 2022, 17:13 »

Sapkowski is not a very friendly person, you should know that. I had dinner with him, Ian Watson, and Robert Scheckley in 2003. He got drunk and made all of us else uncomfortable. That was when his first novel was being tranlsated into English.
« Last Edit: 06 Mar 2022, 17:20 by zmeiat_joro »
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LTK

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Re: Netflix' The Witcher
« Reply #17 on: 06 Mar 2022, 18:00 »

Everyone who has read or watched even one interview with Sapkowski knows that he is not a friendly person.
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Quote from: snalin
I just got the image of a midwife and a woman giving birth swinging towards each other on a trapeze - when they meet, the midwife pulls the baby out. The knife juggler is standing on the floor and cuts the umbilical cord with a a knifethrow.

zmeiat_joro

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Re: Netflix' The Witcher
« Reply #18 on: 06 Mar 2022, 22:44 »

I have not been interested about his shit since. He was a piece of shit that I had never heard of talking about his books, while I was trying to talk about people's books at the table I was actually interested in.
« Last Edit: 06 Mar 2022, 22:55 by zmeiat_joro »
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