Remember nearly two and a half years ago when Warcraft, the film based on the highly-enjoyable, very popular MMO called World of Warcraft, charged into theaters? And remember when it turned out to be a flop, overall making a profit at least worldwide but proving the point that games can’t be turned into live-action films? Well, I missed Warcraft in the movie theaters two years ago but I did manage to see it when it was released digitally. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it at all. I was mortified that a game so epic could be turned into a movie so horrid and I vowed to never watch it again. Jump forward to this month and I somehow managed to get the nerve to watch it again.
Have you ever watched a movie, thought it was awful, and then watched it again and actually enjoyed it? Well, this was what I was hoping would happen on my second viewing of the film. It did not happen. I was able to enjoy it a little more than I did last time, for I was kind of able to grasp what the world was going on in its very confusing storyline, but overall I came away from the movie disappointed yet again.
And what makes it so agonizing is the film could’ve easily been a good movie but it had too many problems.
The story, as I said before, was downright confusing as it jumped from here to there and never landed on solid footing. Only those with extensive knowledge of the game’s lore will have even a slight idea of what’s going on and that is unfortunate.
The round-faced King of Stormwind is easily the lamest king I have ever witnessed in a movie. He can have a lead role on AMC’s original series, The Preacher all he wants but the moment he tries to become a king of a fantasy world, wearing armor that for some reason doesn’t fit, that’s when I clock out.
The main hero, Lothar, is no Aragorn (in the slightest.) He’s not even on par with Thorin, the dwarf king in The Hobbit trilogy. His scraggly beard is annoying to look at. His arrogant attitude isn’t engaging. And he’s just 100% not cool.
The mage/villain of the movie looks more like a hippy Jesus rather than a powerful wizard.
Oh, I could go on and on about how much the casting for this film annoys me but that would take all day. Ultimately, it’s the casting (at least for the humans) that ruins the movie. The characters weren’t well written enough as it was, but with subpar actors portraying those poorly written characters, it didn’t make things any better.
My Conclusion of the Film
If the movie had just been about the orcs it would’ve been so much more enjoyable, for the writers focused so much on their side of the story that they forgot to put the same enthusiasm into the humans’ storylines. Unfortunately, the film’s lackluster storytelling ruined the movie pretty quickly and this movie will remain a waste of extreme potential for the next Lord of the Rings-quality set of fantasy films.
What would I give this movie? 75 out of 100 and 3 out of 5 stars. It’s an average movie that you may be able to slightly enjoy if you need a subpar matinee film to watch. If you’re looking for a movie worth your time, however, skip this one. It’s not worth wasting the brain cells.
I thank you for reading and I hope you have a fantastic day.
Annlyel Online 
I’ve played the game for 11 years, so I had a pretty fair amount of knowledge. Some little Easter eggs dropped in gave me a smile. They were not major plot points, just a slight nod in the background to those of use who would notice. From what I read from the director, a lot, and I mean like an hour or so of footage ended up cut for time. Legendary Pictures did a horrible job promoting in the US. Like you said, worldwide it did well, especially in China where it’s was really promoted. Why Blizzard entertainment ever let Legendary take a lead roll in production I will never know. They have the bankroll to have made it themselves without sacrificing the vision. All in all they took what could have been a successful 3 movie deal and butchered it to fit into one film.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve played the game for over ten years as well and let me tell you, the scene that proves to me that the director didn’t know anything about the game was when the wizard is going from Stormwind to Goldshire on the road and they showed a bridge with murlocs.
There are NO murlocs (or a bridge) on the road from Stormwind to Goldshire. In fact, the only thing you’ll see may be some deer or a cute rabbit. It’s ridiculous. Those are details that you have to get right, otherwise true blue Warcraft fans will instantly know that you’re a fraud making a film about a game they love.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They should have done it from Westfall, across the bridge heading towards Goldshire and had Hogger off to the right. That, would have been perfect. There were a lot of inconsistencies, and I’m honestly surprised Chris Metzen didn’t work more with them to get the images right.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly! Now that would’ve been a fun detail.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There was a lot of speculation that they, Blizzard Corporate and Legendary, were trying to force the Warlords of Draenor expansion story line to tie into the movie to run side by side, get people that had no knowledge of the game to go out and pick it up. I believe Duncan Jones played WoW, so did a lot of the Horde actors. In the end my personal thought is they should have pushed for a 3 picture deal, filled in some more initial story from the Orcs in Draenor, why the Dranaei were sacrificed to open the portal, had the fighting we all recall from original wow, movie 2 taking the fight to Draenor where the planet has started breaking apart, and the 3rd film we head to Northrend with the Wrathgate and the Lich King. It could have been a huge successful trilogy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
If the Lich King trailer is anything to go by, the trilogy could’ve been something special. I’m talking SPECIAL!!! Unfortunately, it was just handled by people who didn’t understand the gem they had in their hands. It honestly could’ve been the next LOTR.
(Oh, and can we talk about those elves? If you’ve seen the LOTR movies and The Hobbit films you should have an idea about what elves should look like. Those elves with those weird glowy eyes were just…bad. And the CGI dwarves! What was up with this movie?)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh and the one scene. Hmm, we need a fairly big name actress. Oh yeah, let’s give Glenn Close a small part.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh my goodness, give me a freaking break! What was that about?! It’s literally laughable how bad that movie is. Plus, what was the point of Paula Patton’s character? It’s like she didn’t get the chance to play Gamora so she just went after the next big thing. (Btw, I haven’t seen her in any big-time movies since. Which is actually kind of a shame because I loved her in Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
And the guy who played Kadgar…I understand that this is a younger, more apprentice-like version of the character but that doesn’t mean he needs to be so soft-faced. 😒
LikeLiked by 1 person
It kind of reminds me of Buckaroo Banzai. Get a bunch of relatively known actors and it should make it great. Even Ishtar with Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty. The downside is it didn’t do as well as they hoped, so the odds it will even get remade are slim. Unless someone does a full CGI version.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This was a disaster…pure and simple. It was the same thing with the reboot of ‘The Mummy’. Just because you get big names like Tom Cruise and Russel Crowe to join the film doesn’t mean it’s going to be good. ‘Cause ‘The Mummy’ is TERRIBLE!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Think about Warcraft, I’m reminded of the movie Dune. I saw it on release in the theaters a long time ago. When I left the theater I thought, that was a waste of $5. Oh yeah, back in 1984 you could see the movie, soda and popcorn for $5. But the theatrical release was only 136 minutes. There were gaps that left you scratching your head, and even though there was a huge cast of big names, it felt off. Flash forward to the extended 177 minute version, and it made more sense. Looking forward to the reboot later this year.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me too. I don’t know anything about Dune but my dad’s been talking about since my sister and I were kids. I’m hoping it lives up to the hype.
LikeLiked by 1 person