Nerd Legion

Conceived by George Lucas and directed by Ron Howard in 1988, Willow has reached its 35th anniversary and Nerd Legion reviews this childhood classic. Upon release, it was a landmark in special effects and enchanted a generation with its simple plot and charming, feel-good story. Val Kilmer and Warwick Davis shine in their performances, even if the script doesn't give them much to work with. Ultimately, has the film aged well in the context of other fantasy movies or is it beloved purely from nostalgia?

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In spite of the compelling build-up for the Battle of Thanedd, the second half of Netflix's The Witcher Season 3 massively drops the ball in terms of pacing and execution to close out Henry Cavill's tenure on the show. The wizard conflict is massively rushed through one episode only to result in a plodding and boring character arc for Ciri as she wanders around a desert with an inexplicable unicorn. Meanwhile, Geralt lies around injured in a bed for Cavill's last moments in the series, leaving viewers pitying the actor for being given such a lackluster way to end his time as the signature character. The Vilgefortz storyline still holds promise for future seasons, but seems to lead to inevitable disappointment given the track-record of the show thus far.

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Secret Invasion faceplants at the end of the series, not only ruining its own story arc, but creating unavoidable problems for the entire Marvel universe moving forward. How can they reconcile the power level of G'iah as she assumes the abilities of the Avengers and dozens of other superhuman beings? Monte and DoA discuss the numerous problems with the series and its disappointing finale before moving on to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. SNW continues to borrow from better Star Trek series, particularly in the crossover with the cartoon Lower Decks, and they guys argue about the success of the episode and the uneven quality of the show thus far.

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Monte and DoA tackle the first five episodes of The Witcher Season 3, which continues Geralt's saga as political intrigue builds among the mages and Ciri eludes her many pursuers. They touch on the success of the first two seasons of the Netflix show, criticizing the editing and pacing as hindering a fundamentally good story that is needlessly confusing for the viewer to follow. While the third season largely improves upon the the problems that plague The Witcher, it still suffers from overwrought storytelling that obscures the strength of the narrative and acting. Should The Witcher be considered the ultimate mediocre TV show?

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This week, Nerd Legion returns to Marvel's Secret Invasion and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. While Secret Invasion drags on with ridiculous situations and boring action, there are a few good scenes and performances from Samuel L. Jackson and Don Cheadle buried in the muck. Monte and DoA discuss the issues with fatigue in the Marvel universe and a burdensome expectation to watch all Marvel content if viewers want to understand anything at all. Meanwhile, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds finally releases a couple of good episodes that draw from classic franchise tropes to deliver some genuinely entertaining content. Will the rest of the season follow this pattern or regress to the disappointing narratives that kicked off season two?

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In the first episode of Nerd Legion to examine a feature film, Monte and DoA discuss their (mostly) fond impressions of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. They explain some of the historical details the movie build upon, including the Antikythera Mechanism, the life of Archimedes, the Lance of Longinus, and Nazi mysticism. While Dial of Destiny freely repeats many Indiana Jones tropes, including Nazi castles, supernatural artifacts, bringing melee weapons to gun fights, and loveable street urchins, fans of the series should find the nostalgia heartwarming and entertaining.

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DoA and Monte return their attention to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds this week as they discuss whether the time-travel episode with Kirk was actually worse than season two's opener. These two episodes are chock-full of ridiculous moments, including an absurd court scene where a lawyer introduces a critical law at the end of a trial and La'an Noonien-Singh leaving a gun in Khan's childhood room. Marvel's new show, Secret Invasion, has kicked off, but does it live up to its lofty expectations as a Samuel L. Jackson-led spy thriller? While the first episode proved confusing, the backstory explaining the skrulls' motivation finally arrived in episode two, piquing our interest moving forward.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has resumed, so Monte and DoA discuss their impressions and review the first season as well as the disappointing start of season two. Is the show an adequate intro for Trek newbies, despite constantly pilfering plots from popular sci-fi? The guys bring up the ridiculous moments of season two episode one, including a drugged-up doctor fight and a hangover being a punishment for mutiny. The conversation continues around the show's parallels to other famous franchises such as Aliens, Indiana Jones, Freaky Friday, and more.

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