As an audience, we have a voice. If we don't watch Hollywood will change. To see an actor of Cavill's caliber, who also loves the source materials openly leave the show because of crappy writing and the inability of the show runners to let go and just use the source materials is a real shame. Just like I'm not watching the crap shows marvel is pushing out right now, I will not be watching the Witcher once Mister Cavill leaves. We as an audience have got to start using the little power we have by not even watching the garbage these huge studios are pushing out. Just because it's there doesn't mean it's worth a damn. Feel bad for Mister Cavill, especially after him saying this is his dream role, sorry mate, the fans stand with you!
Add a Review
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edler_c7 November 2022
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tacotruk20 December 2019Now in no way is this show as bad as people thought it would nor is it as good as some of the other reviewers here think it is either. First of, Henry Cavill as Geralt is the best part of this show 100%. No doubt about that. The show is worth watching just for his portrayal. He really cares about the character and it shows. Pros: -Henry Cavill as Geralt. Can't say this enough. -The fight Choreography is just insane. GOT could have really used some of the insane fight sequences from the witcher series. -The Really amazing moments between Jaskier(Dandelion) and Geralt. They did Jaskier perfectly in my opinion. -Roach Cons: -Really bad casting choices like Triss,Foltest and the Driads. Also they butchered an entire portion from the books which was one of my favorite parts from the Last Wish actually. -Nilfgaard Armour. Like who in the right mind actually thought that it looked even remotely good. I wanted to skip the parts where they came up in the screens. -Very unfriendly to people not familiar with the books or games. This is a fan-service. Not entirely a con but you get the point. -DESTINY THIS DESTINY THAT. GOD STFU. I know destiny is a main focal point in the books but it was over done even there. I just got so tired of that word after watching for a while.
All in all its worth the watch if you're a fan of the Witcher games/books. I can't praise Henry enough for his performance though. Seriously. -
tovart3023 December 2019The one real issue i have with the show is that it doesn't do a great job of distinguishing between current and flashback scenes.
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Rob133126 November 2022I finally watched The Witcher after putting it off for so long and thought it was fantastic. The entire cast does a good job but it's Henry Cavill who carries the show. He's absolutely terrific as Gerald of Rivia. I just read that Cavill will be leaving after the upcoming third season and will be replaced by Liam Hemsworth. I don't like when they just replace the actor, they should just start with Hemsworth as a different Witcher and go from there. Just write a new story revolving around his character. Henry Cavill is such a great actor and was absolutely brilliant as the lead, he's going to be hard to replace.
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Supermanfan-1311 April 2023I didn't really know what to expect from The Witcher having never read the books or played the games but I'm a big Henry Cavill fan and saw all the high ratings so I thought I'd give it a chance and I'm glad I did because I liked it a lot, even more than I thought I would! It seems that most of the negative reviews are from people who are either comparing it to the games or books (which you shouldn't, just take it for what it is) or from bots from competing streaming services that rate everything Netflix does low. They say things like "another Netflix bomb" or something like that even though Netflix has had more Oscar, Golden Globe, Emmy, etc. Nominations than any other company on the planet. Henry Cavill is such a great actor and was absolutely brilliant as the lead, as was the rest of the cast!
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I'll watch Henry as Geralt for the 3rd season but then that's it for me. I've never seen the main star not given what he wants to stay before. I mean Tom Cruise became the Executive Producer of MI and Top Gun, same for Ryan Reynolds and Deadpool. They should have just made Henry ahead of the project and let him make the decisions instead of losing him. Because I severely doubt the show will make it with Liam unless they go a younger version of Geralt I guess, then maybe it could hang for a season, but that's about it. Which is a shame because the production design wasn't bad. The casting choices were way too woke for my Slavic tastes but most did an adequate enough acting job perhaps. So basically Henry carried the entire thing.
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nephiliem10 November 2022Overall, I enjoyed it. It had decent pacing, the acting was (for the most part) pretty strong. Decent plotlines and good atmosphere. It might not be ready for any awards, but given the absolutely lamentable track record of studios trying to convert games into films and television series, this definitely gets the award for "best I have seen so far". Some of the sword fighting scenes were the best I have ever seen choreographed - in either film or television.
The hardcore fans of Witcher were in doubt when trailers of the show released, but when we saw henry cavil's acting we knew there is no Witcher without henry cavil. He is the sole purpose of the show and they can't replace someone as good as him who plays Geralt of Rivia as Geralt of Rivia himself.
I think everyone who loves the show must sign the petition which the fans created. -
The initial two seasons were passable, with some promise. However, the third season proves to be a complete squandering of time. It fails to evoke any genuine emotions, not even passion between Yennefer and Geralt. The plot twists are lame, failing to provide any unsuspecting turns that would keep viewers on the edge of their seats. The script itself is poorly constructed, devoid of creativity and imagination. Without prior knowledge of the book's story, this adaptation becomes nearly unwatchable. The overwhelming abundance of bewildering names, territories, kingdoms, and characters only adds to the confusion. Is this the new direction entertainment is taking? I sincerely hope this is not a prevailing trend. What we truly yearn for is the immersion effect, eagerly awaiting the next episode, and being wholly captivated by the unfolding narrative. We long for the days of Game of Thrones' first six seasons, where every episode was a gripping masterpiece. I have added an additional 2 stars solely for the exceptional talent of the actors; they are truly outstanding. However, even their brilliant performances could not overshadow the pervasive flaws of the plot.
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codyambeault16 January 2023Pretty much only kept watching for Cavill and Jaskier. They both did an amazing job, especially Cavill as the Witcher, his scenes and acting were perfect. Its too bad he was surprisingly only in about third of the scenes. Found myself bored with scenes without him and just wanting to skip ahead. Many of the other characters lacked charm and interesting sub plots and felt they had too much attention paid to them and that they were overall lacklustre. Would have liked more attention paid to Cavill and monster hunting. Really disappointed that Henry will not continue with the show since he single-handedly made it worthwhile to watch. Here's hoping the new actor can do the role justice.
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Venge3 February 2023Netflix has once again released a series that has incredible potential, but has been undermined by horrible writing and extremely weak casting choices. Henry Cavill was an inspired choice as Geralt of Rivia, and obviously brings a lot of knowledge and fondness to the role. He gives the series a luster that is unfortunately quickly dimmed by the horribly dimwitted writing. Eels??? What is with the Eels??? Note: that didn't need a spoiler alert. If you've seen the series, you'll know what I am talking about, and if you haven't, you will know when you witness that silly travesty.
The sets are lush and well done, the costumes are good, and the music fits well with the setting. The exception to the music is when Dandelion goes from Medival to something akin to "Pop Harp". Grating doesn't even begin to describe it. I did like the action scenes, as Henry Cavill is very believable as a athletic monster slayer.
So overall, I give a 9 to Cavill and the great atmosphere of the series. The supporting cast are sporadic and generally weak, and rate no more than a 5 or 6. The writing, and in particular the scenes added to the script that were never in the original books, was extremely weak, and garnered no more than a 2 or at the most 3. I gave the show a 6. Mildly entertaining, but falls far short of the original books and the three Witcher games. -
ahmetkozan20 December 2019Production has an incredibly important place to shoot a series or film. Sometimes even a very minimalist story can reach an incredibly successful point after the right production stages. The Witcher series is far from minimalist. The Witcher is one of the best Middle-earth works in the world. Production quality is essential if you want to handle such a topic successfully.
The world that The Witcher goes through is a world with its own rules, races, characters, creatures, beliefs, even if it does not seem too strange to those familiar with fantastic narratives. In particular, the first two chapters carry the risk of being too confusing while reflecting the details of this world to the audience. After the chapters where it is difficult to fully understand which character serves whom and why, the story becomes more beautiful as the other characters gradually increase in the narrative. There are two main characters in the narrative except Geralt. One of them is Ciri, who was advised to find Geralt when her lands were taken over by the enemies. The other is Yennefer, a kind of witch whose aim is to gain as much power as possible. While the goal of these two characters is evident, the fact that Geralt at the center of the narrative does not have a significant motivation due to the character's characteristics causes the story to be thrown from one place to another. However, the story deepens as the characteristics of this character become evident and the dynamics of the world in which events take place gradually emerge. It is the primary factor that gives the dark tone of The Witcher's world that people use their power and material resources to seize land. The dark narrative that expresses the evil within man is supported by the visual language of the series. The visual language, dominated by darkness and shadows, brings The Witcher closer to a gothic horror narrative from time to time when combined with the characteristics of the characters it contains. This dark atmosphere also gains a realistic tone with the violence of the series. The Witcher, one of Netflix's most courageous works to date, relentlessly conveys the mess of the world it tells. It creates a consistent and dark atmosphere thanks to well-captured battle and combat scenes and technical details such as image management and music usage. 9/10 -
BlockLike1 July 2023What can I say... Seasons 1 & 2 were excellent.
Solid writing with enough following to the source material.
Really good cast and acting.
Topped with some decent special effects and set design resulted in a very enjoyable dark fantasy adventure.
Then, along came season 3.
Oh dear... oh dear oh dear oh dear.
It feels as if they're trying to achieve the same as the first two seasons but with half the budget and deplorable writing.
Every scene feels cheapened and like a soap opera.
What on earth happened?
No wonder Henry Cavill left. This is nowhere near the caliber if the first two seasons and an epic disappointment.
The forth season will undoubtedly be doomed to failuref this is anything to go by.
Seasons 1 & 2 = 8/10 Season 3 = 5/10. -
As discerning readers of Andrzej Sapkowski's novels and players of CD Project Red's games will know, The Witcher universe is a rich and sprawling tapestry of interesting characters, deeply emotional plot lines, fantastic creatures and settings, and a uniquely Eastern-Eurpean-flavored take on the fantasy genre. It is an understatement to say that The Witcher-verse is a gold mine for an ambitious live-action show producer.
That also means it takes a special kind of talent to squander this potential in the way Lauren Schmidt Hissrich and her Sapkowski-hating writers managed to do. Following their five easy steps you too can become a failed show-runner, despised by fans across the world!
Step 1: Hire a popular lead actor that is very familiar with the source material. Then promise this actor and all the fans of the source material that you're working on a faithful adaptation of the stories they know and love, all while knowing that you intend to do no such thing. This step is important, because if you don't hype up fans of the original content, they won't be as massively disappointed when you inevitably fail to deliver. It is also important because your lead actor will feel that he has been suckered into a project under false pretenses, and when he tries to correct your flawed writing, you can then accuse him of being toxic towards the women in the workplace (They really did this. To Henry Cavill of all people).
Step 2: Hire writers that actively dislike the source material that your show is based on. This will ensure that your promise of a faithful adaptation cannot possibly be kept. It will also make them more likely to project their own views onto the stories, as required in step 4. (Again, they really did this).
Step 3: Whenever you deviate from the source material, do so in ways that don't add anything new or interesting to the story. Your mantra should be: "Replace the good with the bad". Related to this point, make sure that your deviations are also completely unnessecary - this will help the viewer feel confused about your "contributions" to the story.
Step 4: Shoe-horn as much of your own private politics into the show as possible. People hate being told what to think, so you must do so at every turn. The more your viewers are thinking about real-world politics and current events, the less they're concerned with immersing themselves into the world you're creating. If you can make it really obvious and jarring, they might not even be able to concentrate on the story at all! Win-Win-Win!
Step 5: Never listen to criticism, no matter how well reasoned or constructive it is. When disappointed fans criticize your first season, make sure you have a character breakt he 4th wall in the second season to directly berate and belittle those disappointed fans. When your now thoroughly disaffected lead actor tries to carry the show back on track, stand in his way and make is as difficult as possible for him. This way he will eventually give up and quit.
If you follow these five easy steps, you too can ruin a show, even if you have talented actors, directors, technical staff and tons of money at your disposal! -
dgguions8 August 2023Writers killed an awesome show with so many options to make it great. First season gave us hope, it was a great way to start the series. Then season 2 had great moments but you can watch how it stars to fell apart. And season 3 is the best example of how not to do things. It's boring, conversations that lead to nowhere, meaningless characters, deads that could be different. It is really like you are watching vampire dairies. They had a great cast but definitely the writers where the problem. Geralt and Yen where amazing but the turns it had and the mechanics really failed to deliver a great show. Definitely not watching another season.
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markogruicic20 December 2019Amazing first season, Henry is Geralt no doubt about it
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sahibpt20 December 2019Henry cavill nailed the role perfectly. The fight scenes, the music, the cinematography, the whole atmosphere is beyond amazing. Netflix did it again
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The acting skills, direction, production quality of the show is top notch, henry cavill is superb, first being a avid fan of witcher books and games i was a bit skepticle on seeing the trailers etc, but oh my!!!!, The show is just plainly good. Some people comparing the show to GOT, because they dont have any knowledge about the witcher universe and comparing mainly on the basis of swords and clothes they see. A fan of witcher will truly love and enjoy the show. Henry cavill is the real witcher...... Lol
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ftphenom95120 December 2019I was terrified when news was first released about this TV show adaptation of The Witcher book series. I didn't want some random TV writers ruining a great part of my childhood (the books) while simultaneously ruining a great part of my young adulthood (the game series). I thought it would be impossible for a TV series about Geralt n' crew to be anywhere near this good. God answered my prayers people. Damn good people built and molded this series into (dare I say it) Game of Thrones S1-7 quality!!! To be completely honest episode one was an average opening. Its how the show progressed through the 7 remaining episodes that made it so spectacular. All the great parts of the first and second books are used and God did I have a mile wide grin on my face watching some of these scenes come to life. The last time I felt this good about a TV series was back in 2013 when Game of Thrones season 3 ended. Its quite the feeling. If you've read the books or played the games have no fear, the people that made this adaption keep you very comfortable while watching. I can't wait for season 2! By the way, if you don't like the fantasy genre, this is still an amazing watch in its own merit. Acting, writing, directing, cinematography, the lot of it. This show will please any viewer, guarenteed.
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thepolishgirl15 November 2022I expect the 3rd (and final season of The Witcher that I'll ever watch) to be a good one - chiefly so because of Henry Cavill. To have an actor with his resources and his love for the source material WANT to play Geralt is trully a God-send. I've already downloaded the Henry Cavill face extensions for all my Witcher games; in my mind's eye he will always be Geralt. It is absolutely mind-boggling that having him, having the other cast members, the producers made the decision to slaughter the goose that lays golden eggs. I suspect this will top the blunder of Firefly in terms of fans and revenue lost. With all the love I have for Liam - he is simply not Geralt, and no amount of make up, white wigs or leathery body armour can change that. R. I. P., best fantasy ever brought to life. It's been a good run. One day, in a decade or few, perhaps a new hero will rise, loving the original story as Henry does, hopefully having at least a fraction of Henry's looks and dedication to this character, and we'll give it another go. Hopefully I'll live to see that day.
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alec328020 December 2019What more could you ask for? Henry Cavill really loves this character and it absolutely shows. He gives it his all as Geralt and tries his best with the dialogue to make it his own. As for Yennifer and Ciri, they did a pretty good job! I can't wait to see what this does for their careers.
The fighting scenes are outstanding, brutal and well choreographed. The cinematography is pretty great as well, nothing really stands out but the world they've created is beautiful at best.
If you enjoy fantasy series like Game of Thrones or you enjoyed the books or the games than I think this will be a pleasant surprise for all who are watching. -
Bait and switch. A term most will be familiar with. I can't help but think this is what has happened here.
We, the poor viewers, were baited in with a major star, the promise of action, adventure and monster hunting and then, after throwing some token bones to us, the switch happened!
Out went action, adventure and monsters, and in came politics, talking and dullness. Out went the major star, and in came the focus on other characters who are not the Witcher.
Given what I've read of the comments by the production team, I'm pretty certain this was planned out right from the start. It's almost like they thought we wouldn't notice the drop in quality, or the focus on unimportant side characters to the detriment of the main character.
It never ceases to amaze me, in this "new age" of movie and TV production, just how wrong these people get it. The worst part of it all is that they absolutely never learn anything from their failings. It's always the viewers fault, not theirs. Or in this case, a "difficult" star. They keep doing the same things over and over expecting that, next time, things will be different. But it never is. It never is.
So, The Witcher became The Witches. A plot focused on a side story to The Witcher tale that no one asked for, or wanted. So is it any good?
Well, no. I suspect the showrunners were hoping to make the next Game of Thrones with their faction strife and politics, but they didn't manage that. Game of Groans, more like. Increasingly dull machinations between the sorcerors and mages, whilst the looming, and more interesting, threat of Nilfgaard is mostly sidelined.
Speaking of sidelined... Poor old Henry Cavill. Season 3 has him mostly do absolutely nothing. It has him beaten in a fight by a mage with a stick. Beaten so badly in fact that he spends the last two episodes lying around moping in a bed. It has him cry at one point and erm... yeah. Like I said, not a lot else.
You know, after watching The Witcher: Blood Sausage, I consoled myself that at least The Witcher couldn't ever get that bad. Now, I'm beginning to think that I was wrong.
Along with the bad story choices (a whole episode is devoted to Ciri wandering around in a desert) the editing is pretty janky. Either that, or I micro-napped through a scene transition and missed something, but characters seem to be all over the place. It makes little sense.
I also really don't know why they bothered to hire Liam Hemsworth to replace Geralt because I doubt he'll have much to do if the current production staff have anything to say about it.
So now the wait for season 4...in 2025! Is anyone still going to care about this show that far out? Will anyone have even a faint chance of remembering what was going on? Does it matter? Not really, because I suspect it won't get to season 4.
Netflix will can it and everyone will wring their hands, blame the writer's strike, and the fans, and whatever other form of copium they huff to get them through the day and no doubt all involved will get promotions and move on to mess up some other IP.
So long Witcher, we barely knew you.
SUMMARY: Went downhill faster and more clumsily than Eddie the Eagle. Not so much The Witcher as The Witches now. At least we'll always have the books and games. This effort, honestly, is best forgotten. -
akkzcend16 December 2021After suffering through the first 6 episodes of Wheel Of Time series, Season 2 of The Witcher reminded me what good fantasy looks like. This show captures the essence of the characters and storyline, and the cinematography is resounding. I was fully drawn into the first episode of the new season and got lost in the worldcrafting. Unlike WoT that makes me wonder what odd art exhibit I stumbled into. The Witcher casting really brings the stories alive and doesn't leave a bit of doubt in your mind, just wanting to know/see more.
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hnpjzvrx10 July 2023As a fan of the books & games, I thought the first season was decent. It's an adaptation of a multi-book short story collection with an overarching narrative. Without prior knowledge of the series, I may have required multiple views to understand the timeline and events. It has a similar feel to the stories, though, and I enjoyed it.
Season 2 had a great first episode and an okay finale, but meandered in the middle episodes. The substance of many adapted stories were altered. Parts that were main story in the book felt like filler and lacked necessary plot & character development. I'll never understand why adaptations leave out parts that are important to understanding the main plot and characters, yet add meaningless fluff & soap opera drama. Some characters that don't say ten words in the books are main POV characters now.
Season 3 was awful. Before even looking at the train wreck of the content, I wonder why NF released half the season, when the second half will be aired three weeks? Why not wait and release the entire series, or release one episode each week? Anyway, regardless of the stupid release schedule, the first half of season 3 is abysmal. The main actors who brought the characters to life in season 1 don't seem to want to be there at all anymore. The script writers are no longer even trying to follow the Witcher stories, they're just off in the weeds doing their own thing. The drop in quality this season is precipitous. I'm sorry to say it, but Netflix's The Witcher is no longer worth watching. -
tudorpsih21 December 2019This has the potential to be a great show. So far I'm impressed. Season 1 feels a little disjointed, but knowing the source material, it's understandable. Henry Cavill is Geralt of Rivia, Anya Chalotra clicked as Yennifer and Freya Allan has the potential to grow into her character. Some of the design of the monsters is questionable, but overall I very much enjoyed it.
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shannon-horan-180-75054622 December 2019I loved this more than GOT! Another 10 seasons please!!! And then take over the film rights for Assassins Creed.