Geralt von Riva - Der Hexer

Während ich mir den Film ansehe, denke ich, dass das eine verpasste Gelegenheit ist. Man hätte nur ein weniger größenwahnsinniges Drehbuch ausdenken müssen, das in sich geschlossener ist, einen cleveren Regisseur mit Ideen engagieren (denn es gibt keine einzige originelle Idee in dem Film) und darauf warten müssen, dass das Fieber von Der Herr der Ringe - Die Gefährten ausbricht. Dann hätten die Verleihfirmen sicher von dem Wort Fantasy-Film gehört, und Der Hexer wäre vielleicht besser gelaufen und hätte den Weg für weitere Filme dieser Art geebnet. Leider ist der Versuch gescheitert, der Film ist hoffnungslos mittelmäßig, die Reaktionen sehr kalt und, offen gesagt, nicht überraschend. Ein großer Autor braucht große Interpreten. Interpretatoren, die die Essenz der Geschichte erfassen und sie organisch in die Sprache des Films übersetzen. Die Hexer-Crew hat es geschafft, ein grausames, kopfloses Chaos mit mehreren Achillesfersen zu schaffen. Aber ich muss zugeben, dass ich mich trotz aller Mängel zumindest über den Versuch freue. Mit ein wenig gutem Willen kann man ihn mit subtiler Faszination und ohne Magenbeschwerden betrachten. Vielleicht wird die Serie dem Namen von Sapkowskis wunderbarer Saga eher gerecht. (29.01.2004)

This series of marvelous tales that have become classics in this part of the world has already been utterly defiled by Marek Brodzki and his crew in a ten-part series. In certain respects, this one wasn’t absolutely abortive, but overall it is severely unworthy of its literary precursor. And now imagine, going into the cutting room without any hint of a plan and editing this into a feature-length movie. What is the result? That’s right, an insanely boring and lamely ridiculous mishmash that’s so bad it makes the audience nauseous. The production design was meagre even for a series, but the creators must have been crazy to think this would be enough for a regular movie. The Hexer avoided getting the lowest possible rating only thanks to the well-cast Zebrowski. Too bad that he had no acting to do. The rest of the ensemble isn’t even worth mentioning... By the way, an intro to the computer game of the same name is exactly what the movie Hexer doesn’t manage to offer, not even for an instant, let alone for the duration of a whole scene. (17.11.2007)

I can only review the series, but I didn't last longer than eight episodes with it. Undoubtedly, there are much weaker works in the history of film and television in the fantasy genre, but compared to Andrzej Sapkowski's excellent books, the result is rather awkward. The weak screenplay, which also differs from the source in many aspects, unbalanced performances, and a noticeably lower budget couldn't be saved by the well-cast Michał Żebrowski who is also equipped with a very decent acting range, nor by several Polish acting aces who appeared in smaller roles. From such strong material, a much more decent spectacle could have been made, and a much greater mystique could have emanated from it. Overall impression: 35%. (09.11.2006)

The Hexer redefined the term "bad movie". At the beginning, the screening room was packed. When I woke up halfway through, there were 12 people left, and the fact that it was in Polish without subtitles had nothing to do with it. (17.02.2004)

Compared to the series, one star down, for the editing, the shortening and thus the confusing the plot. However, I commend the distributors for at least releasing a DVD of the film, if nothing else. (26.10.2010)