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My Warcraft (movie) review - shamelessly self-centered post
DKLond
Member RarePosts: 2,273
I'm a gamer - and I've played all the Warcraft games. I never particularly cared for the stories in those games, though, so I didn't go into this with much in the way of preconceived notions.
Based on the trailer, I was expecting an underwhelming popcorn B-movie with bad CGI.
I was pleasantly surprised.
First of all, I have to say the CGI is absolutely gorgeous. I've seen a lot of movies, believe me, and this has to be one of the most convincing fantasy films in terms of visuals alone. The Orcs in particular - are amazing.
Anyway, in terms of the heart of the film - the story, characters and the acting - it's sort of a mixture of good and bad.
The story itself is simple but effective - and it makes enough sense to give you a reason to care. That said, it's very high-fantasy stuff - and I'm sure some people will be turned off by the emphasis on extravagant magic and such.
As for the acting, well, it's a mixed bag.
Ironically, the human characters face the most trouble here. Ben Foster as Medivh, for instance, doesn't seem to connect with his role. He looks and sounds as if he's struggling with the material - and as if he regrets being there. Travis Fimmel as Lothar is better, but he also seems to have a hard time just standing still and looking normal. It's as if he's constantly trying to emote something, which makes him over-act on more than one occasion. Paula Patton as Garona goes back and forth between powerful, genuine expression and cringe-worthy melodrama. Surprisingly, I found Ben Schnetzer the best and most convincing actor, playing Khadgar. He was fun and not at all the comic relief I expected him to be.
On the opposite side of the coin, we have the Orcs - and to put it simply, they're ALL great. They look incredible and the actors behind them give them real weight and pathos. Durotan, Gul'dan and Blackhand are particularly convincing and masterfully executed. The whole movie might well be better if it was all about these guys.
Now, for the action. It's amazingly well done. I saw the movie in 3D - and the live actors meshed convincingly with the animated models - and the action sequences were more or less perfect. I didn't detect a single "bad 3D" moment - which is extremely rare. Very exciting stuff, for sure.
Speaking of 3D - something I generally don't care much for, this was an exception. Everything jumped out of the screen at you - and it didn't seem tacked on at all. The spectacle felt appropriately close to you - and the striking background images were just fabulous on a grand scale.
Sadly, it's not all roses from there.
The ending was rushed - and everything wrapped up too quickly - and it didn't quite convince as a plausible series of events towards the end.
There's a pretty serious lack of character development in the beginning of the film. The Orcs invade - and the humans seem strangely laid-back and almost casual in their initial response. Things happen without enough build-up. It's 20 or 30 minutes too short for the scale of what's going on, in my opinion.
Unfortunately, there's also a somewhat unnecessary subplot involving the son of Lothar - and there's a problem with his acting and the age difference seems off. Lothar simply doesn't look or feel like a father to me. To make it worse, events related to father and son are too cliché and needed more impact.
Things like these mean the movie isn't all it could have been.
However, the critics are flat-out unfair - and if you're into fantasy movies and a touching spectacle, you need to go see this in the theater, and for once, you should go with 3D.
I truly hope it will do enough business to warrant a sequel. Duncan Jones did well here, but he can do even better - and I'd love to see full justice done to the material.
7/10
Based on the trailer, I was expecting an underwhelming popcorn B-movie with bad CGI.
I was pleasantly surprised.
First of all, I have to say the CGI is absolutely gorgeous. I've seen a lot of movies, believe me, and this has to be one of the most convincing fantasy films in terms of visuals alone. The Orcs in particular - are amazing.
Anyway, in terms of the heart of the film - the story, characters and the acting - it's sort of a mixture of good and bad.
The story itself is simple but effective - and it makes enough sense to give you a reason to care. That said, it's very high-fantasy stuff - and I'm sure some people will be turned off by the emphasis on extravagant magic and such.
As for the acting, well, it's a mixed bag.
Ironically, the human characters face the most trouble here. Ben Foster as Medivh, for instance, doesn't seem to connect with his role. He looks and sounds as if he's struggling with the material - and as if he regrets being there. Travis Fimmel as Lothar is better, but he also seems to have a hard time just standing still and looking normal. It's as if he's constantly trying to emote something, which makes him over-act on more than one occasion. Paula Patton as Garona goes back and forth between powerful, genuine expression and cringe-worthy melodrama. Surprisingly, I found Ben Schnetzer the best and most convincing actor, playing Khadgar. He was fun and not at all the comic relief I expected him to be.
On the opposite side of the coin, we have the Orcs - and to put it simply, they're ALL great. They look incredible and the actors behind them give them real weight and pathos. Durotan, Gul'dan and Blackhand are particularly convincing and masterfully executed. The whole movie might well be better if it was all about these guys.
Now, for the action. It's amazingly well done. I saw the movie in 3D - and the live actors meshed convincingly with the animated models - and the action sequences were more or less perfect. I didn't detect a single "bad 3D" moment - which is extremely rare. Very exciting stuff, for sure.
Speaking of 3D - something I generally don't care much for, this was an exception. Everything jumped out of the screen at you - and it didn't seem tacked on at all. The spectacle felt appropriately close to you - and the striking background images were just fabulous on a grand scale.
Sadly, it's not all roses from there.
The ending was rushed - and everything wrapped up too quickly - and it didn't quite convince as a plausible series of events towards the end.
There's a pretty serious lack of character development in the beginning of the film. The Orcs invade - and the humans seem strangely laid-back and almost casual in their initial response. Things happen without enough build-up. It's 20 or 30 minutes too short for the scale of what's going on, in my opinion.
Unfortunately, there's also a somewhat unnecessary subplot involving the son of Lothar - and there's a problem with his acting and the age difference seems off. Lothar simply doesn't look or feel like a father to me. To make it worse, events related to father and son are too cliché and needed more impact.
Things like these mean the movie isn't all it could have been.
However, the critics are flat-out unfair - and if you're into fantasy movies and a touching spectacle, you need to go see this in the theater, and for once, you should go with 3D.
I truly hope it will do enough business to warrant a sequel. Duncan Jones did well here, but he can do even better - and I'd love to see full justice done to the material.
7/10
Comments
You said it feels 20-30 minutes too short, and there's an interview with the director up today where he said he was forced to cut 40 minutes of footage. I bet the characterization is in that footage.
But I also understand the pressures of Hollywood - and I'm sure the suits were desperate to make it into an action spectacle more than anything else.
I mean, that's been the big money path since the superhero obsession became the norm, and we all know suits follow the money like lemmings.
i thought it was going to be better than Avatar but its ok then i have avatar 2 to look forward too;)
i dont care about WOW lore,its an average overpriced mmo!
I give your review
That's starting to drive me nuts. And, the journalists who should know better are doing it just as much, if not more, than the consumers.(mmorpg *cough*)
There is also a rumour about a 2hr:40min version that got cut to 2hrs.
It was also the first time I ever noticed Eva Green. It was love at first sight... and I don't mean just because she's a hottie, I love her acting.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Well, imo, obviously.
Personally, I found Kingdom of Heaven a bit of a mess - and its treatment of religion was a bit too naive for my tastes. Also, Orlando Bloom can't act to save his life.
But I guess that's for another thread.