This review was originally posted on 8/16/21.
Our time has come for those like me who have been looking forward to any kind of content surrounding The Witcher franchise. In a few days, the animated film The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf will be dropping on Netflix and it is a must-watch. This isn’t Geralt’s (Henry Cavill) story, but it ties very heavily into it. Our main character Vesemir (voiced by Theo James), just so happens to be the one who trained Geralt during his time at Kaer Morhen.
DISCLAIMER: I will keep spoilers to a minimum, but if you want to be completely surprised, I suggest waiting for The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf to release and then come back!
RELATED: Need a catch-up on season one of The Witcher? Check out our recaps!
In most of the media for The Witcher, our image of Vesemir is an older gentleman who has clearly seen battle. However, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf brings us a younger, suave and rather cheeky Vesemir. It’s almost like James kept close tabs on how Richard Armitage brought Trevor Belmont to life within the Castlevania series. And I am here for it.
We get quite a bit of backstory to Vesemir’s character, including his introduction to Deglan (voiced by Graham McTavish), who is sent to exorcise a demon from a woman. As Vesemir watches Deglan’s work and realizes the kind of money he can make doing it, he decides to leave his life behind and become a Witcher. We spend quite a bit of time in Vesemir’s past. It was great being able to see life before all the monster hunting.
But while I enjoyed the bits of backstory for Vesemir, it definitely took a bit of a toll on the film’s pacing. Just when things are heating up in the present day, we are thrown back into the past for more than a few brief moments. However, the latter half of The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf does an amazing job setting up backstory that newcomers to the franchise might not quite understand at the moment. Like how Witchers fell from grace and the events that shape Geralt’s current situation.
One thing that I wish The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf had done better was its use of the character Tetra (voiced by Lara Pulver). As the driving force against the Witchers and the one sent with Vesemir to investigate a beast, she gets sidelined quite a bit. It isn’t until the latter portion of the film that we actually get to see her in action. And it’s marvelous. I just wish they had made better use of the character and allowed more character growth or even just exploration of her feelings.
Overall though, I still stand that this is a must-watch for fans of The Witcher franchise. It introduces us to the backstory of the world, Witchers and directly ties into Geralt’s story moving forward. We know that he will be returning with Ciri (Freya Allan) to begin her training in season two. So what better way to introduce readers to some of the stuff we expect to see through the eyes of Vesemir.
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf also proves that doing animated offshoots from the original story is totally plausible. We are getting the chance to see not only Vesemir’s backstory but the backstory of Witchers as a whole. So why couldn’t we do one that dives into the history of Tissaia (MyAnna Buring) and the witches on the continent? Or one that gives us a look at the elves? The possibilities in this vast, beautiful world are endless.
Be sure to catch The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf when it drops on Netflix on August 23, 2021. Let us know what you think in the comments below and on social media!
This review was originally posted on 8/16/21.
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/the-witcher-season-2-trailer/
Who I Am: A nerd by the strictest definition. I enjoy diving straight into my favorite fandoms without a care in the world. I live on video/board games, fantasy movies and TV, and all things geeky.
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