The Witcher Nightmare of the Wolf Movie Review: The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf is a prequel anime film set in Netflix’s Witcher universe. The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf tells the origins of Geralt’s mentor Vesemir and how he escapes the life of poverty in hopes of earning coin and glory while being tangled in a conspiracy. Starring Theo James in the lead, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf provides us with a deep dive in The Witcher lore that will satisfy many fans of the series, unfortunately many of its emotional moments fall flat due to its fast pace. The Witcher - Nightmare of the Wolf: Cast, Plot, Streaming Date - All You Need to Know About the Animated Spin-Off of Henry Cavill's Netflix Fantasy Series.

The most striking thing about Nightmare of the Wolf is its lead, Vesemir. He is portrayed as this charming character who is very good at what he does, but when a problem arises, he is all hands on deck. Theo James voices him fairly well too as he is able to portray some of the more emotional moments of Vesemir in a very convincing way. Vesemir’s backstory is also fleshed out nicely and his character development throughout the movie shows us how he comes into his role of being a mentor. It just makes us more excited to see his story continue in The Witcher Season Two and what Kim Bosnia will bring to this character. The supporting cast also consists of some colourful characters, especially Vesemir’s relationship with Lady Zerbst.

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The animation by Studio Mir is also crisp. There isn’t a single inconsistency with it, all the scenes flow really well and provide striking visuals that bring this beautiful world to life. The action scenes are kinetic and fast and provide a great sense of adrenaline as a Witcher swallows up a decoction to provide him the necessary buffs. It hits hard and is what makes the movie so much more enjoyable. Blood flows like an open barrel of red wine being spilt and doesn’t hold anything back. It’s a necessary element in showcasing how grim and dark the world of this land is. In the few minutes itself you’ll be greeted to some gnarly scenes that will take you by surprise.

While the action is great, Nightmare of the Wolf also has some really neat body horror elements. In a world of witches and monsters, some of these scenes bring a great sense of dread that wouldn’t translate well to live action even with The Witchers exceptionally high budget. All this just includes it being a great package and provides a great sense of rush whenever stuff is about to go down. OTT Releases Of The Week: Kunal Kapoor’s The Empire on Disney+ Hotstar, Barkha Singh’s Engineering Girls Season 2 on ZEE5, Aishwarya Rajesh’s Boomika on Netflix and More.

I love how the movie even dived deep into the lore and provided us with more monsters and the dangers they possess in the world. There are more Witchers over here, you get to see them all working together as a team and fighting side by side. Kaer Morhen is explored, the trial that children have to take before becoming a Witcher is also shown, it all comes together in providing a necessary sense of what the world used to be. While all of this can be seen as a setup for the upcoming season of The Witcher, it still provides the movie with depth.

While the supporting characters have a great setup for an emotional payoff, it's marred by a rushed plot. Nightmare of the Wolf ultimately falters in telling a story that probably required another 30 minutes to pay off all the necessary sub plots. They bit off more than they could chew, and the 80 minutes just pass by while you’re left wondering “why didn’t this emotionally impact me as much as it should have”. That’s a constant thought that you will have throughout the second act.

It’s weird because Nightmare of the Wolf sets these character conflicts so well, but doesn’t have the necessary time to fully flesh them out. Outside of Vesemir’s backstory, literally every other sub plot just rushes by in a series of scenes that don’t do these characters justice. Ultimately it ends up feeling like the movie has nothing but teeth and swords to offer while forgetting the overarching plot that it was telling. If not for the action and some good character resolutions, this would have been a rushed mess.

Yay!

-Vesemir and his backstory

-Nice supporting characters

-Deep dive into the lore

-Great animation and action

Nay!

-Rushed pace

-Character resolutions aren’t fleshed out

Final Thoughts

The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf is still worth watching if you’re a fan of this franchise and are looking to kill 80 minutes. While it has a lightning fast pace which ends up biting more than it can chew, it still has enough action and character development for Vesemir to keep you interested. It surely has me looking forward to seeing The Witcher Season 2 and seeing where Vesemir’s story goes from here and his dynamic with Geralt. The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf is streaming on Netflix.

Rating:3.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 23, 2021 08:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).