So the other day, I finally got around to seeing the Warcraft movie. While a lot of people just see it as a random fantasy movie, I see it as an important movie since it is a video game movie, and most video game movies suck (i.e. the Resident Evil movies or the Doom movie with the Rock). However, what makes Warcraft different is that it was produced by a partnership between Legendary Pictures and Blizzard Entertainment. So is this movie the video game movie to stand above the rest or is it just as bad as all the others.
Story: As far as the story goes, it’s kind of up in the air. It is pretty clichéd at times, calling on many classic fantasy tropes, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. The story has just enough small twists to keep the viewer interested for the duration. Additionally, despite being a ‘video game’ movie, it doesn’t require the game’s backstory to understand the plot. While I’m sure fans of the series will enjoy the subtleties of the story, the film does a good job of telling the viewers what they need as the film progresses, rather than just throwing exposition at them during the intro for instance; a great example of showing the story rather than telling it (or something like that).
Acting: The acting is nothing special from pretty much everyone. Paula Patton, who plays Garona, is good at times but nothing really beyond that. Yeah. That’s all I got.
Presentation: This is where the film shines. The movie looks gorgeous. The varied landscapes of Azeroth look beautiful, from the hillsides to the castles and strongholds featured throughout. The CGI in the film is so unreal that you can forget that the orcs are just CGI, and the other effects, from the spells casted to the fel magic, simply complete the package. It truly made me feel like I was watching someone play a game, something all video game movies should strive for. Furthermore, the soundtrack was just the icing on the cake. Dark and mysterious for the orc warlock, Gul’dan and fierce and heroic for the heroes. Simply put. Excellent.
Effect: The movie definitely gets its tone from the Warcraft games. While watching the action scenes, I felt my heart racing and when it was over, I wanted to rush home to play a fantasy game (i.e. the Elder Scrolls). Again, this is what a video game movie should be.
Other: The movie is about two hours and I felt like all the time was used in a purposeful manner. The film wasted some time with (what felt like) a forced romance but asides from that, I felt engaged for the duration. Overall, I think it’s a good movie, but might be better off waiting for a retail release or catching it on HBO (or Starz/I’m an equal opportunist).
While it is not the best movie of 2016, Warcraft is without a doubt the best video game movie that’s ever been released. Period. I hope that future directors and writers look to this movie when considering a film adaptation of a game cause this movie shows that an adaptation can be true to its roots while presenting a solid film to make a (relative) box office success.
Story-6
Acting-5
Presentation-9
Effect-8
Other-7
Score-7 (wow. such round. very number)
No Duty to Watch 