Warcraft

Warcraft

            This is a GOOD movie and theater worthy!!!

            This movie was amazing and most definitely theater worthy! Seeing the previews I was worried that the film would attempt to tell two stories with in the same film. The structure can be tricky to give both stories, or however many stories lie within a film, as much time and attention as they all need to be set up properly. This was in fact the case. Warcraft encompasses two stories, one of ogre and one of man, and ultimately how the World of Warcraft came to be.

         Now, full disclosure, I haven’t played a single second of the world wide sensation myself. I can’t relate to it or compare it to the film in any way. With that said I can still tell you why I deem it theater worthy. Also, not for nothing, but from the few times random laughter abrupt from the audience, most likely from those who have played, I’d assume there are a lot of special shout outs to the game.

As previously mentioned there are two stories in this movie, one of ogre and one of man. Both with their protagonist their antagonist, separate challenges, and separate goals. While they are two separate stories they’re also interconnected, sharing some of the same goals and challenges, and in the end sharing much of the same story. What makes it work is that both stories parallel each other very well. While not exactly the same they are indeed similar. Because of this they help build each other up. Doing this we see the many different sides of both stories that come together to make one great film.

The pace of the movie is very fast. One minute you’re looking at someone in a library and the next you’re seeing a massive field of battle. This works due to both separate stories building off each other so you’re constantly seeing a vast change in scenery, character, and action.

When it comes to the action, the main defining element here, it’s very even and very intense. It’s even in that we see as much action from the humans as we do from the ogre s and both progress in the quantity and intensity of action sequences. All of the major battle scenes are epic. Not as long lasting or grandiose as say LOTR (Lord of the Rings), but still intense. Actually, from what I’ve seen, they look like the kind of battle sequences you might find in the actual game. In fact there were a few fights that just scream “BOSS FIGHT”…like the kind you’d find in a video game. It felt very cool! Other than that there was good humor, which is important when it comes to the ogre s because it helps to humanize and relate to them, and there’s only one true love story in the film and it’s a love affair that only geeks will get.

As far as the characters go everyone was great but there were two that stood out. One was Draka, wife to the main ogre character Durotan. I found her useful as a measuring stick for the films integrity. If they went all “Hollywood” on the film all of the ogre woman would be attractive in some way, but they’re not. They are, indeed, ogre woman. Unlike the character Garona, played by Paula Patton, who plays a hot half-breed character. She’s half ogre, half human, and fully hot . . . and I don’t care who judges!

The other character is the all wise and all powerful wizard, least I believe that’s the correct term for him, Medivh. He is played by a personal favorite of mine in Ben Foster and it was an absolute perfect casting match. He had the look and totally owned the attitude. Also known as The Guardian he was absolutely unrelenting in the absolute prowess of his awesome power. So much so you just want to clinch your fists, strain your veins, and just pretend you possessed such power. It was like watching a young Gandalf but possibly even more powerful.

For me personally there were only two negatives. One was the CGI. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t consistently the best either. In some instances the CGI even felt cheap and hastily thrown together. While it was always very colorful, imaginative, and at times I’d even describe it as powerful, it still could’ve been better. And the second was the decision by the king at the end of the film. But for all I know his decision could’ve been the set up for a major part in the story line of the actual game so, I don’t know. You be the judge.

         As a movie it was great, definitely theater worthy. As a movie based off a game I just don’t know. They do introduce flint lock pistols which didn’t seem to fit with W.O.W. but I could be wrong. My favorite phrase was from Durotan, “We prefer our enemies armed with an ax, not a child”, which to me sums up his character perfectly. Lastly they leave it wide open for the beginning of the story that becomes . . . The World of Warcraft!