Directed by : Duncan Jones
Written by : Charles Leavitt, Duncan Jones
Starring : Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Toby Kebbell, Ben Schnetzer, Ben Foster, Daniel Wu, Dominic Cooper
Release Date : May 25, 2016
If you're already a fan of the video game that this movie is adapting, or you are just looking for a huge fix of high fantasy entertainment, then there's a good chance you will enjoy "Warcraft." I on the other hand was never really into the game, and while I do enjoy watching fantasy films, I thought this movie was rather mediocre and average in terms of story telling. There were several moments of me just feeling bored and annoyed, mixed in with mild-amusement to how epic this movie is trying to be.
The story itself is arguably the most problematic aspect of this movie. For people who want this film to greatly explain and fully develop the world of Azeroth and the different characters that live in it, well you're going to have to take things at face value. The pacing is a bit too quick for it's own good at times, and the transitions between scenes can feel distractingly jarring at times, that it felt like it was missing a reel or two. Out of the huge cast of characters, the only one I really cared about was Durotan. Everybody else seemed like they were just there to serve the plot, and then they also try to shoehorn in certain plot turns that felt too forced or cliche for me to take seriously. In addition, the little attempt at levity this movie tried to entertain us with also just fell flat.
On a technical level, this reaches some incredible achievements in visual graphics, but it's also still all over the place in terms of execution. Simply put for me, I couldn't get pass the uncanny valley of how the CG Orcs looked. They may look very detailed and almost photo realistic, but if I was to borrow an appropriate statement, it all still "looked like I'm just watching a video game." I could say the same about the backdrops that scream "I'M A GREEN SCREEN" at me multiple times. Watching this movie was just a tug-of-war of me keeping my suspension of disbelief going. At least I can honestly say that several of the battle sequences looked impressive and enjoyable to watch, and I did really like how magic looked in the game... I mean movie.
While I have several issues with "Warcraft," I admitedly did end up appreciating the ambitions it tries to reach storywise, most especially during the final act. Fans of the franchise will likely have no problems appreciating the movie as a whole, just from the sheer fact that they are seeing this beloved game come to life on the big screen. Speaking of which, I did get a free copy of World Of Warcraft that came with my movie ticket, so there's also that.
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