We remember well the time when Netflix wanted to make The Witcher son Game of Throneswith a Superman fan of the novels ofAndrzej Sapkowski in the main role. We had a good laugh at the time. We laugh a lot less today. Netflix too. To the point where a spin-off film to the series, Rats: a “The Witcher” story came out to general indifference. Our friend having still had difficulty digesting her viewing of season 4, she preferred to pass the candy on to yours truly. Not sure she gets any thanks.
Before even talking about the film itself, we can focus a little on the project. A project that smacked of panic within the executives of the streaming platform. In 2022, a rumor is sparked about a new spin-off series, while season 3 is not yet on our screens. It must be said that prequel spin-off, Blood Legacyhad been a critical and commercial success (spoiler: it was neither). Filming would have started in 2023 with the aim of producing a show in a few episodes. Except that it seems thatbehind the scenes the production was a disaster and no one was happy with it. Ambiance.
As if that wasn’t enough, the audiences of The Witcher collapsed season after season at the end where this fourth batch, which changed its face, achieved the worst scores of the franchise on Netflix. We know that the fifth season will be the last and we especially feel that the SVoD service is eager to move on to something else, particularly on Narnia. Which perhaps explains why the late mini-series was suddenly put online following season 4, but moved up again in an 82 minute filmgeneric included. Without big announcement, without promotion, without trailer, without highlighting other than a viewing suggestion for fans of The Witcher. It smells good, as they say.
The story of the film
Attention, the first images of the feature film will spoil if you have not finished season 4 of The Witcher. Rats is an origin story whose events take place between season 3 and 4, told by Léo Bonhart to Ciri. Six months ago, the little gang learned of the well-filled coffers of the Dom Houvenaghel fighting arena. Except the arena is run by a man with ties to Mistle’s past (Christelle Elwin).
To succeed in their heist and defeat the monster guarding the treasure, the Rats call on an alcoholic Witcher who has dropped out, Brehen (Dolph Lundgren). What they hadn’t expected was that this would be their first meeting with Léo Bonhart.
When the Rats Leave the Ship
Should you type for free on Rats: a “The Witcher” story ? No, it’s even more watchable than the series Blood Legacy. Already, becausewe can thank the butchering of the original project to arrive at a film of only 82 minutes. Because this necessarily makes the experience more digestible and statistically, failures (or successes if we are optimistic) will be fewer.
Then, becausewe love Dolph Lundgren. The 80s star didn’t have an incredible career, but he’s still here and giving of himself. Brehen is also the real asset of this new story in the sagawith a real redemptive, emotional arc, far from the monolithic and efficient Géralt.
Besides that, the film will try tooffer thickness to the little band of bandits that we find in the series. Fans of the novels can always argue that their troubled past was one of their strengths in the Pole’s writings, but everything now has to be over-explained, so here we are. Due to lack of time, we are especially entitled to rushes of dynamics only extrapolating what we had already seen In The Witcher.
Do we become more attached to the characters while knowing their destiny? Not really. The weak acting of the actors does not help. Nothing will really change our opinion of them and the best passages will remain the appearances of Sharlto Copley as Bonhart. Lundgren or him, the interest of Rats is never rats. A shame.
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Everything sounds wrong, completely broke, and entirely dispensable. No wonder Netflix doesn’t particularly highlight it since it adds nothing to the lore and as an independent film, it has no interest either. A heist film in a fantasy universe, one might believe it to be a bad, low-end copy of Dungeons & Dragons: Thieves’ Honor.
You could say this is further proof that Netflix never knew how to manage licensing The Witcher, but the discretion of the thing suggests that the service is aware of it. Confessed failure, half forgiven?
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