Solo: A Star Wars Story was not the first Lucasfilm project Ron Howard directed. In 1987, George Lucas, who created a world-changing film series 10 years prior because he couldn’t get the rights to Flash Gordon, asked Howard to replicate that phenomenon after not getting the rights to Lord of the Rings. Thus: Willow, starring Warwick Davis and Val Kilmer as pseudo-Frodo and Asshole Aragorn, fighting evil witches, skull-faced enforcers, and rescuing baby princesses. Willow is an ungainly little family film, pinballing between pulp fantasy, awkward romance, cornball kid’s flick (ugh, the fucking Brownies), and Harryhausen-esque adventure, but thanks to Kilmer’s charm, Davis’ pluck, and one hell of a score from James Horner, Willow—while getting nowhere near the resonance of Lord of the Rings—ends up being a mostly okay fantasy pastiche. by Bobby Roberts